Volunteer divers sought for Eastern Shore project

Scientists are seeking volunteer divers and snorkelers to help expand an effort at restoring sea grasses in the coastal bays off the Eastern Shore.
Interested divers would be trained, for free, in how to identify and collect certain types of grasses and shoots that scientists want to transplant elsewhere in the shallow bays along the Atlantic Ocean.
A training workshop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Anheuser-Busch Center for Coastal Research in Oyster, in Northampton County.
As many as 100 volunteers are needed to assist in the project this spring, as sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Divers would be collecting grasses and seeds in waist-high water for four and five hours during trips at various days between May 31 and June 16. Exact times and dates have not been scheduled yet.
All trips would leave from Oyster harbor, in the town of Oyster, off U.S. 13, about an hour from downtown Norfolk.
To sign up or for more information, contact Jennifer Rich, (434) 951-0572, or Bev Watson, (757) 442-3049. Volunteers can register online, too, by sending e-mails to jrich@tnc.org or to bwatson@tnc.org.