Cornell Cooperative Offers ‘Marine Meadows’ Habitat Programs

You can help repair the bottom of Peconic Bay waters this spring and summer through Cornell Cooperative Extension.

The cooperative will offer two Marine Meadows Program workshops on the North Fork this season — the first on May 6 at the Chase Bank parking lot in Greenport, the second on June 8 at the New Suffolk Waterfront Association and Peconic Land Trust lot in New Suffolk.

Participants will weave eelgrass shoots harvested from healthy donor meadows in local waters into burlap planting discs. Once assembled, these discs will be planted by staff members of the Cornell Cooperative marine program in selected restoration sites in local estuaries.

The newly created “marine meadows” will serve as vital  marine habitat for many species of finfish and shellfish and help enhance the health and productivity of local bays. The Marine Meadows Program is a collaborative, community-based component of CCE’s Eelgrass Restoration Initiative funded in part by Suffolk County’s Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program.

Registration is free, but required as space is limited. For more information on the Marine Meadows Program, or to register for this event, contact Kimberly Barbour, Habitat Restoration Outreach Specialist at kp237@cornell.edu or 631-852-8660 ext. 27, or visit www.ccesuffolk.org.