The WSC22 & ISBW14 Scientific Program Committee along with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science SAV Program is offering an overnight field trip to the Virginia Coastal Bays eelgrass restoration project site. The trip will depart Annapolis early Saturday morning, 13 August, and return to Annapolis on Sunday early evening, 14 August. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the world's largest eelgrass restoration project and the trip will include the following activities:
- Snorkel in the eelgrass meadows and look at epifaunal communities among the leaves.
- Hear from experts from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Virginia Coastal Reserve (VCR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site about the restoration project, the emerging blue carbon market, and ongoing science.
- Trawl for critters in the eelgrass beds, viewing fish and mobile crustaceans that live in the meadow.
- Enjoy a Virginia style blue crab feast on Saturday evening.
Participants will spend the night at VIMS' Eastern Shore Lab dormitories. Due to limited dorm, boat, and transportation space, we can only accommodate 16 participants. Those that responded to the Google Form emailed out and shared on our website previously will get priority. If spaces remain, we will open it up on a first-come, first-served basis.
The cost of the trip will be $150 in addition to and separate from conference registration and would include all food, transportation to and from the field station, and lodging.
This field trip is full.