Not that kind of grass! The Alexandria Campus
Library is contributing to efforts to save the Chesapeake Bay by growing
aquatic grass:
(pictured: Library Specialists Kevin O’Hagan & Michelle Jerney-Davis and Professor Leslie Orzetti-Gollhofer)
What are we growing?
Vallisneria Americana or Wild Celery.
Wild Celery is a type of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) that grows in shallow water regions of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers.
Wild Celery is a type of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) that grows in shallow water regions of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers.
Why are we growing it?
The Chesapeake Bay needs saving!
The Chesapeake Bay needs saving!
Pollution, Agricultural Run-off, Sewage Treatment Plants,
and many other factors have devastated the underwater grasses in the Bay.
Underwater grasses are an essential part of the Bay clean-up
effort.
Underwater Grasses are in trouble.
Why is the grass important?
It cleans the water, clears excess nutrients, produces oxygen,
prevents erosion, and offers food and shelter to fish, shellfish, and waterfowl
– also acts as nursery for blue crabs.
Our grass
We’re participating in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Grasses for the Masses Program.
We’re participating in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Grasses for the Masses Program.
Our grass will grow here in the Library all semester, and
then get planted in the Potomac River as part of the larger effort to help Save
the Bay.
Follow grass on Instagram (By the way, you can follow the
library’s Instagram account on your pc: http://instagram.com/novaalexandrialibrary/
)
