Do Something Good this Saturday

No Southern coastal boy worth his salt can turn his back on that supreme delicacy--oysters. I love 'em raw or lightly steamed, the saltier the better. In my opinion, the best oysters in the world come from either North Carolina estuarine waters, or Chesapeake Bay. As a result of rampant development, especially upstream along the inland rivers in NC and VA, our local oysters are in serious danger. Not only are we losing a great food source, but a way of life. For years successive generations of families made their living harvesting oysters. They have their own vocabulary, their working boats are unique and slowly disappearing, and, at least in the mid-Atlantic region, many have retained a hint of a British Isle's accent found nowhere else in the United States.

The local Nature Conservancy has been at the forefront of re-establishing our reefs by recycling oyster shells gathered from restaurants, oyster fests and other activities. This Saturday, we're all invited by the Friends of Jockey's Ridge to bring our gloves and help fill out mesh bags that will be placed in the local sounds as oyster bed reefs. The event takes place in the Jockey's Ridge State Park parking lot from 10AM to 2PM. Cooked oysters provided, as well as shovels!