WHIDBEY OYSTER NETWORK - Free Monthly Meet-up

On Whidbey? Interested in oysters? Join us for monthly lectures & peer-to-peer learning about oysters and DIY shellfish farming. No experience necessary!

• Free monthly oyster discussion group with educational lectures
• Hosted by oyster educator Emily Wilder, SeaEO of Salinity Seafood & More
• Registration not required. Walk-ins welcome!
• Join the Facebook group for peer-to-peer sharing: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BHLwqjwD4/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• And/or add your email address to the mailing list: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkAfctT2t4mC6_3gKQoW-KpOIgRT2JK6XnwjNFZbytsUJZ_A/viewform?usp=dialog

LOCATION: Located upstairs from Salinity’s shop in the "Front Room" in the second level of the historic Bayview Cash Store (elevator available) at 5603 Bayview Rd, Suite 3, Langley, WA.

MEETING & SPEAKER SCHEDULE:

Meetings are the last Thursday of each month (except Nov./Dec.) from 6-7:30pm; optional mingling in the lobby from 5PM-6PM.

THURSDAY, MARCH 26 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker: Marnie Jackson, Executive Director of Whidbey Environmental Action Network nonprofit; Topic: environmental policies and local actions related to oysters and water quality

THURSDAY, APRIL 30 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker: Kurt Johnson, long-time shellfish farmer and expert teacher of private oyster farming on Whidbey Island; Topic: locations and gear for private shellfish farms on Whidbey

THURSDAY, MAY 28 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker: Jesse Honiker, Farm and Nursery Operations Manager at Hama Hama Oysters; Topic: history and current practices at commercial shellfish operations

THURSDAY, JUNE 25 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker TBA

THURSDAY, JULY 30 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker TBA

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker TBA

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker TBA

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29 from 6-7:30pm - Speaker TBA

TALK ABOUT OYSTER FARMING & ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS!

✨ The goal? ✨ Get as many oysters on Whidbey beaches as possible. Along the way, make sure people get their septic systems checked and pick up their pet waste — two of the main ways YOU can help!

✨ The plan? ✨ Connect waterfront property owners with resources, supplies, and friendly neighbors to help with the heavy lifting and wintertime midnight low-tide beach work of growing your own oysters.

✨ Why? ✨ Oysters have phenomenal ecosystem benefits! They are filter feeders, meaning they take particles out of the water and filter it into “food” (goes in their belly, gets turned into poop) and “not-food” (gets wrapped in spit), both of which then leave their shell and are heavy, weighed down, and float to the seafloor to be digested by worms and microbes. This means less particles in the water = more sunlight = happier eelgrass and other plants & animals around them!

In particular in Puget Sound, we have an excess of microalgae (a mollusk’s favorite food) because of nitrogen run-off from farms, so we actually need as many oysters, mussels, clams (including geoduck!), and scallops as possible to keep all that seaweed from creating big ecological problems.

Shellfish farms and gardens also provide wonderful hiding spots from predators for baby fish and other cute critters!

✨ How? ✨ If you own tidelands, you can purchase shellfish “seed” and equipment from Taylor Shellfish, they’ll file the proper paperwork with the state, and you’ll be on your way! You absolutely do not have to eat them, either (but it’s the main perk for most private shellfish farmers!) just help us get more shellfish on beaches - especially the native PNW oyster species, the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida).

This is a new monthly meet-up from 5-7pm on the last Thursday of the month, in the upstairs conference room at the Bayview Cash Store (above Salinity & Island Shakespeare Festival’s shop).

Everyone is welcome to join, no experience with oysters or waterfront property needed.