St. Mary’s County, MD – The St. Mary’s River Watershed Association was honored at Patagonia’s Washington DC store last month with an $11,453 grant earmarked for the oyster reef restoration project located adjacent to St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
“We have about $34,000 to give away this fiscal year in two rounds—October and February,” said DC store manager Mark Stevens at the award presentation. “This round we awarded nearly $18,000 to five organizations. My staff was so excited when they reviewed the St. Mary’s River proposal. It is something they all want to get involved in, ‘I want to do this’ was their chant. It was certainly our #1 pick.”
“We are honored to receive this generous grant from a reputable international corporation—one that is founded on the principle of sustainability and gives back 1% of gross revenue to the community,” said Association president Joe Anderson.
The oyster reef project is a partnership project of the Leonardtown Rotary Club, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association. Already more than 950 volunteers have worked on the project over the past three years. Please call 301-737-2903 or email info@StMarysRiver.org to join our volunteer call list. Youth groups and school groups are encouraged to get involved.