Mussel Basket Maintenance Workday at Bladensburg Waterfront 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: Wednesday, October 22, 2025

• NOTE: We will have a backup rain date - Tuesday, October 28th, 10 am - 12:30 pm. Please let us know during registration if you are available to volunteer on our backup rain date.

Time: 10:00 am - 12:30 pm

Location: Volunteers will meet us at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Rd, Bladensburg, MD 20710. We will meet by the docks.

Project: Volunteers will help AWS with freshwater mussel basket maintenance at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park. During this workday we will be counting and organizing hatchery-raised mussels in culturing baskets as well as cleaning and maintaining the baskets. 

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: Easy to Moderate

• This event will likely involve lifting, bending. If you think any of the physical requirements will be problematic, please let us know.

Registration is required. Please register at least 2 days prior to the event date to receive additional information about the event. 

Bathroom Situation: Bathrooms are available for use at the park.

For more information before the event, please contact Jorge Bogantes Montero at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-699-6204 ext. 118 and/or Jennie Hudson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Click here to register