Cornell Cooperative Extension To Host Marine Meadows Workshop at Havens Beach

Eelgrass serves as a habitat for oysters. Oysters help filter and keep our waterways clean.

With funding support from the community, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Marine Team will host a Marine Meadows Workshop on October 21, at Havens Beach, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The team will bring adult eelgrass shoots to shore for processing, inviting the community to get involved in an eelgrass restoration project by helping weave eelgrass shoots into burlap “tortillas” for transplanting.

Once stocked, these eelgrass “tortillas” — or biodegradable burlap planting units in science terms — will be planted at restoration sites by Cornell’s Marine’s Dive Team, where they will provide essential habitat for finfish and shellfish, and help improve water quality and coastal resiliency of Sag Harbor’s shorelines.

Stormwater runoff flows into Haven’s Beach contaminated with pollutants that migrate from nearby roadways and properties to the watershed area causing water quality degradation problems leading to closures for bathers.

Eelgrass improves water quality by filtering polluted runoff and it also produces food and oxygen, stores greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and protects the shoreline from erosion.

“It’s a great way to give people hands-on experience,” Kimberly Barbour, director of the Back to Bays initiative through Cornell Cooperative Extension, explained.

“They can see it and get to play a role,” she said, adding that live eelgrass is usually unseen as divers swim to the bottom to forage for live eelgrass.

Members of the Sag Harbor community have come together to support the establishment of a new Back to the Bays stewardship site in support of water quality and habitat improvement off Haven’s Beach in Sag Harbor.

The goal is to populate with future oyster reefs and raise enough funds so the team at Cornell can continue to do the legwork required for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permitting in addition to routine dives, researching sediment in the surrounding areas and researching if certain waterways can support healthy oyster reefs.

Shawn Sachs, a Sag Harbor resident since 2017, and Suffolk County native said he’s been inspired to take action by reading stories in The Sag Harbor Express about water quality issues. Sachs attended a Cornell lecture series at Kidd Squid Brewing Company in Sag Harbor and has been involved ever since, helping the organization to raise funds and getting the word out.

“I’ve always loved our waterways and nature,” Sachs said, adding that as a kid, he’d summer at Lake Montauk. “It’s always been something that is important to me and my kids.”

Sachs’s daughter, Isabella, who attends Sag Harbor Elementary School, even donated some of her own money to support Cornell’s water quality mission.

Cornell has been planting eelgrass for at least six years, Barbour said, at a restoration site off Haven’s Beach between Shelter Island and Sag Harbor through different funding sources. This is the first year it didn’t have the funds in place immediately. Sachs spearheaded the effort to get more funds, currently they are at $6,000 of the $25,000 goal.

“I wanted to be part of fixing the problem and I think it takes bringing the community out,” Sachs said.

If more money is raised, Cornell hopes to seed oysters in the spring once DEC permits are approved. If not approved, it will investigate alternative sites.

Years ago, Cornell planted along the breakwater of Haven’s Beach, but currently there are no permits in place. Barbour was in the water last week monitoring oyster reefs at sites in Huntington and Mattituck.

Cornell works closely with the Department of Environmental Conservation to find areas they deem appropriate for this type of work.

Most funds come from fundraising through the community, local town preservations funds, grants, and memberships, which cost $25.

The main purpose of the eelgrass program is to restore and monitor eelgrass, a dominant local seagrass species. Eelgrass meadows provide essential habitat for many species of finfish and shellfish during part or all stages of life. Due to the structure and protection, they provide, eelgrass meadows are the most biodiverse marine habitats in the region.

First, divers collect the eelgrass. It is then transported to their greenhouses in Southold. For the October 21 event, the crew will load the eelgrass into coolers and set up a station at Haven’s Beach for people to do the weaving activity. It’ll all be taken back to the greenhouse afterward, and the following week, when the tides are favorable, Cornell will plant the eelgrass in Sag Harbor.

These meadows also help to prevent or lessen erosion from storm events and help control turbidity by slowing currents and settling particulates from the water column. Eelgrass meadows also capture excess nutrients such as nitrogen and sequester carbon to combat acidification of waters caused by climate change. Unfortunately, eelgrass populations have declined dramatically over the past 75 years, and according to Barbour, will not likely make a comeback soon as there are no ready sources of propagules (seeds or adult shoots) to naturally vegetate local areas. This situation is called propagule limitation, and it is the basis for Cornell’s restoration work. The more seeding and planting the team can do, the better the outcome for Sag Harbor’s local waterways.

“When you inspire folks, it can put them into action,” Sachs said. “There is hope. There is no hope in sitting on your couch though. There is an opportunity for folks to engage, get involved and support this however they can.”

Cornell hosts lectures and events throughout the fall. Join the organization for a Coastal Plant Stewardship at Tiana Bay for marsh grass seed collection for propagation on October 16, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., in Hampton Bays. On October 25, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Cornell will host a lecture series titled, “Ribbed Mussel Aquaculture” at the Greenport Harbor Brewery.

All are welcome to attend the eelgrass restoration activity and lecture. Refreshments complimentary of Grindstone Donuts and Sen will be provided.

This Marine Meadows Workshop is just the first in a series of efforts for which funds are being raised. Learn more about Sag Harbor Stewardship Fund goals at backtothebays.org/sag-harbor-stewardship-site.