As we began to plan events for 2021, Coastal Bays knew we wanted to provide more opportunities for engagement, without the constraints of schedules or in-person requirements. Hence hatched the new Give A Day for the Bays program. Throughout 2021, we will release a monthly theme that provides an opportunity for the community to involve themselves with our program, projects, and watershed in a self-paced manner. We encourage everyone to "give-a-day" once a month to exploring and improving our amazing watershed!
JANUARY:
This month, we are inviting folks to explore and learn more about the Coastal Bays watershed using the new MCBP Coastal Calendar Challenge. Although this calendar can be started at any time, we hope you will give a day back to the bays this January by beginning to tackle one of the activities from the challenge. It's a great way for people of all ages to explore the local area and encourages outside exploration! Please visit: mdcoastalbays.org/app/uploads/2021/01/Coastal-Calendar-Challenge-final-1.pdf
to download your copy of the calendar. Each day has a clickable link to get you started on your learning adventure!
♻️Watershed Wednesday♻️
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are any type of plastic fragment that is less than 5 mm in length.. think about the size of a sesame seed! Microplastics start out as larger plastic debris that break down into smaller and smaller fragments.
Why are they harmful?
Because many aquatic species and birds mistake these tiny fragments for food.
What can we do to help?
Source reduction! Try and eliminate plastic waste before it is created… such as purchasing items in economy sizes that use the least amount of plastic, using reusable bags when shopping, and using a non-plastic reusable water bottle.
Check out our website to learn more about MCBP’s source reduction initiative! mdcoastalbays.org/the-programs/outreach/marine-debris/
Have you been spending more time outdoors this year? What is your favorite local place to explore? Tell us in the comments!
Photo by Arianna Russo
*Image description: White and brown horses are seen walking through a winter marsh on Assateague Island. Tall trees make up the background landscape.
Watershed Wednesday – Oysters and Microplastics!
Let’s talk about everyone’s favorite bivalve…
Oysters are filter feeders, meaning to feed themselves they pump water through their gills and trap particles of food, along with other nutrients, suspended sediments, and various chemical contaminants. This means oysters are fantastic water filters that help keep our water clean and clear! However, microplastics have become a more persistent pollutant in waters all over the world, and pose a potential threat to these filter feeders.
Microplastics (under 5mm in size) float in the water column in a similar fashion to algae (one of the oyster’s preferred food sources). Recent research has shown that microplastics can be ingested by oysters and can cause them to become stressed. Essentially, oysters ingesting microplastics must also attempt to pump more algae through to get the same amount of nutrition, which puts a lot of stress on their system! Consider a human that is hyperventilating, they are not breathing better by simply doing it faster.
Much of this research has been conducted only in a laboratory setting and is ongoing with oyster populations in nature, but microplastics are a big problem beyond their impacts to oysters. Be sure to check out next week’s watershed Wednesday to learn more about the impacts of microplastics and what we can do to help!
