Freshwater Mussel Restoration Workday at Kingman & Heritage Islands Park

Note: This event is weather dependent. If you are sick or exhibiting symptoms associated with COVID-19 (such as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, etc.), please do not come to the event and consider joining us another time.

Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Time: 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Location: Kingman and Heritage Islands Park: 575 Oklahoma Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 (Map)

• The Stadium Armory Metro Station is 1.1 miles away from this location (about an 21 minute walk)
• Parking is available at this location

Project: Volunteers will help AWS with a Mussel Restoration Workday at Kingman and Heritage Islands Park! On this workday we will focus on moving Eastern Elliptio mussels into the bottom cages in Heritage Marsh. We will also cleanup the bottom cages.

In 2015, we started surveying the native species of freshwater mussels in the Anacostia River to understand their diversity and abundance. In 2018 we started a mussel propagation project partnering with the Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Virginia collecting local broodstock from the Anacostia River. Volunteers are critical to keep this project going and to meet our goal of enhancing mussel populations to increase their water filtration capacity to help clean our river. 

Physical Level of Difficulty: Moderate

• This event will involve lifting, bending, and walking in waders in mud. Participants will be expected to wear waders for the duration of the event. If you think any of the physical requirements will be problematic, please let us know.

Registration is required. Please register prior to the event date to receive additional information about the event. 

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For more information before the event, please contact Emily Castelli at [email protected] or call 301-699-6204 x103.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER