Volunteer to Grow Oysters

Join the network of 2,000+ individuals and communities volunteering to grow oysters!

Launched by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in September 2008, the Marylanders Grow Oysters (MGO) program was designed to foster stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay and create living oyster reefs in designated sanctuaries.

Get involved in this hands-on opportunity to make a difference for the health of your local waterway. We will connect you with your local watershed coordinator to receive cages and spat on shell (baby oysters). Once they’ve grown to about an inch in size, they will be planted on local sanctuaries.

You Provide:

  • A pier, wharf, or dock with at least 4 feet of water at low tide in one of our MGO tributaries
  • The willingness to maintain growing cages for roughly 9 months

We Provide:

  • Cages
  • Spat-on-shell
  • A connection to your local watershed group

Other MGO Resources

MGO Partners