The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is seeking volunteers to raise underwater Bay grasses in their homes, schools, or businesses as part of the CBF’s Grasses for the Masses program.

Volunteers will attend one of several upcoming workshops in the Richmond, Northern Virginia, or Hampton Roads areas to receive a self-contained kit, seeds, and instruction, and then will nurture the grasses until they are mature enough to be transplanted to nearby rivers in late spring.

Workshops will be held Feb. 4 in Richmond, Glen Allen, Gloucester, and Manassas; Feb. 6 in Virginia Beach; Feb. 9 in Burke; and Feb. 11 in Arlington. There is a $40 fee per grass growing unit, which includes a one-year CBF membership. Volunteers can register and pay program fee online at www.cbf.org/grasses.

Underwater grasses are among the most critical natural resources in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Just as people rely on their immune system to help fight off illness, the Bay relies on a system of underwater grasses to help fight the harmful effects of pollution that are washed into the Bay’s tributaries. The grasses also provide food and shelter for important Bay species, such as blue crabs, fish, and waterfowl.

Unfortunately the Bay’s underwater grasses have been severely depleted by pollution and cloudy water. Volunteers can help restore and heal the Bay by participating in CBF’s Grasses for the Masses program, growing the grasses from seed and later planting them in tributaries of the Bay.

For more information, contact Jess Barton at (804) 780-1392.