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Hello SCORE Volunteers!!
We hope this finds you well and that you have been navigating these uncertain times with the same positive attitude that we know and love you for! It is with a heavy heart that we must face the fact that, for now, all of our public volunteer events have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. The Department of Natural Resources is working to phase employees back to work, but it is a slow and dynamic process that is constantly evolving. We must consider the safety of our volunteers and staff, and as such will have to wait to see your smiling faces until the coast is clear of the threat of COVID 19. We will be in touch base as we have more information and updates regarding getting folks back out with us!
In the meantime, a lot of people are asking what we've been up to? Well, now is the time to catch up for us! Annually, we pull samples of bags off of newly built reefs to evaluate their success. We also have set research sites along the SC coast that we monitor oyster growth at to be able to evaluate changes over time. So what does that look like? We take bags (from new reefs) or trays (from these research sites) of oyster shell that had been deployed the previous year and bring them back to Fort Johnson. We then open them up, hose the shell down, and look for new oyster growth (baby oyster are called spat and that's exactly what we are looking for). We separate out the shells that have spat versus those that don't. The ones that have spat move on to the next round of evaluation in which we use digital calipers to measure the size of every piece of spat growing on these shells. One sample alone can have upwards of 1,000 pieces of spat growing, so you can imagine how tired our hands are after processing these!
Aside from processing samples, we are beginning to plant some of our marsh grass that has been reared in our greenhouses! Many of you helped plant the seedlings a few months ago, and they are all grown up and ready to get out in the marsh! Our staff have many limitations, but we are doing what we can, how we can and are dedicated to continuing to contribute to our SCORE mission even if it's not as fun without volunteers!
We hope you enjoyed this little update. In order to feel more connected, we would like to put together some pictures and stories from YOU, our wonderful volunteers! If you have a funny or sweet story about your experience volunteering with SCORE, we'd LOVE to hear it! Please send any anecdotes to score@dnr.sc.gov and be sure to send goofy plough mud pictures, happy family portraits, or wildlife snapshots you may have gotten during any of your events with us. We can't wait to see what come our way and will share a compilation of the highlights!
Stay smiling!
Sincerely,
Holly H. and the SCORE Team
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