FINAL Freshwater Mussel Restoration Workday

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Registration is required!!! Register by going to this link: https://anacostiaws.salsalabs.org/81519lastfreshwatermusselrestorationworkday/index.html

Note: This event is weather dependent

Date: Thursday, August 15, 2019
Time: 9:00 am - 1:30 pm

Meeting Location: For this Mussel Restoration Workday, we will split into 4 groups to go to 7 different sites. During registration, you will have the opportunity to select which group you would like to be a part of:

• Group 1: ​If you are in group 1 you will only need to worry about getting to one location. The two sites you will work at will be at the same address.
  • Meeting Spot: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Pond: 1550 Anacostia Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20019 ( map)
    • The Deanwood Metro Station is also 0.5 miles away from this location (about an 11 minute walk)
    • Parking is available at this location
  • Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens/Kenilworth Park Tidal: 1550 Anacostia Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20019 ( map)
    • This site is located nearby to the meeting spot, so transportation will not be required to get to the second site.

• Group 2: Volunteers in group 2 will only need to worry about getting to one location:
  • Meeting Spot: Bladensburg Waterfront Park: 4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg, MD 20710 ( map)
    • There is ample parking available
    • This site can be accessed by car, bus (Metrobus: T18, T14, F8), or bike trail

• Group 3: Volunteers in group 3 will need a method of transportation to get to both Kingman sites.
  • Kingman Marsh: 2556 Benning Road NE, Washington, DC 20002 ( map)
    • We will be meeting in the parking lot of the driving range of the Langston Golf Course. Please do NOT park in the main parking lot for the Golf Course!!
    • If you are headed west on Benning Road into the city, you will take a right into the driving range parking lot before the entrance to the Golf Course. The turn for the driving range parking lot is located before the Metro crosses above Benning Road (if you are headed west)
  • Kingman Island: Volunteers will follow AWS staff as they drive across the street to get to the wooden bridge where the other mussel baskets are located.

• Group 4: Volunteers in group 4 will need a method of transportation to get to their two sites.
  • Meeting Spot: AWS Floating Office: 1301 Water Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 ( map)
    • Some parking is available at this location
    • The Potomac Ave Metro Station is 1 mile away from this location (about a 20 minute walk)
  • Capital SUP: 1492 4th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 ( map)
    • Paid parking available nearby
    • The Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro Station is 0.4 miles away from this location (about an 8 minute walk)

Description: Volunteers will help AWS with our LAST Freshwater Mussel Restoration Workday at 7 different sites throughout the Anacostia River Watershed! In 2015, we started surveying the native species of freshwater mussels in the Anacostia River to understand their diversity and abundance. In 2018 we started a mussel propagation project partnering with a mussel hatchery run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Virginia collecting local broodstock from the Anacostia River. Volunteers are critical to keep this project going and to meet our goal of enhancing mussel populations to increase their water filtration capacity to help clean our river. Mussel restoration workdays involve building, installing or maintaining the floating baskets where we culture our mussels or other protective structures associated with the baskets; and monitoring the growth and survival of the mussels on a monthly basis. This will be the LAST freshwater mussel restoration workday before we release the mussels into their new home in the river bed at Kingman Lake and Kenilworth Lake in September!

Physical Requirements: This event will likely involve lifting, bending, and walking in mud wearing boots or waders. Participants will be expected to wear closed-toed shoes for the duration of the event. These events may not be suitable for those with health issues. If you think any of the physical requirements will be problematic, please let us know.

Registration is required. Please register at least 2 days prior to the event date you chose to volunteer in order to receive additional information regarding proper clothing, etc. Please register here at this link: https://anacostiaws.salsalabs.org/81519lastfreshwatermusselrestorationworkday/index.html

For more information, contact Emily Castelli at ecastelli2@anacostiaws.org or call 301-699-6204 x103.