18th Annual Olympia Oyster Seed Planting on Wednesday, October 11th. The weather has been great and there are some really good low tides for Oyster Planting during October.
Hi Neighbors, my name is Dan Mazur, I am a Protect Henderson Inlet member and I have lived on South Puget Sound’s Olympia Shoreline for 18 years. I live here with my wife and son, a 5th grader at Roosevelt Elementary School and now in 6th grade at Marshall. My Dad was stationed out of Fort Lewis in WW2 and my Mom taught at UPS in Tacoma. Like you, I love living on Olympia’s Puget Sound Shoreline and enjoy the amazing ever changing waterfront views and outstanding natural beauty.
For the last 14 years a group of 42 of you neighbors from Henderson Inlet have been planting oysters on your shorelines each year. As you may know, one oyster can filter 50 gallons of Puget Sound salt water each day, so they are natural low-cost very effective sea animals for environmental cleanup. Oysters not only improve water quality immensely and reduce red tides, they also provide habitat for myriad marine life like baby salmon, shore crabs and gunnel fish, which are eaten by otters and herons.
During September, 2023, thanks to good cooperation with the City of Lacey and Olympia Dept of Public Works (Stream Team), State of Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Taylor Shellfish, and Olympia Rotary Club, we have had 70 volunteers preparing Oyster Seeds and Grow Bags for outplanting.
This October, we will be planting two types of Oysters, firstly the big Pacific Oysters which can grow to 8 inches in length and filter up to 50 gallons of Puget Sound each day; secondly, this October we are planting the native Olympia Oyster, which used to grow around Olympia in abundance and all of the way down the Pacific Coast from Canada to Mexico but were nearly wiped out by overharvesting. Now we are putting them back here along East Bay Drive.
On Wednesday 11 October at 8:30am we are meeting at my house to assemble and plant Oyster Grow Bags. We are also reseeding existing oyster bags on the beach after spreading the mature oysters. By the way, for those of you who ordered your oysters earlier this year, we have planted most of them. The Olympia seeds just came in stock on 20 September and we are getting busy now planting our remaining Olympia oyster seed orders.
NOW WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW OYSTER ORDERS. If you, or anyone you know, would like us to plant Oysters on your property during October, we provide the order form below.
Come on everyone and get involved and lets keep Our Henderson Inlet beautiful by planting lots of oysters!
Please check out this NEW Olympian Newspaper Video from last Tuesday: https://youtu.be/tj2a3GSIe5A
Also, our Facebook Page at www.Facebook.com/OlympiaOysterSeedPlantingProject .
Please be sure to watch this amazing 10 minute: www.OysterVideo.org !
Any questions, ideas, or comments? EVERYONE please get in touch with Dan Mazur at [email protected] , 360-250-3407, 2017 East Bay Drive NE, Olympia, WA, 98506.
Oyster Order Form/Volunteer Sign-up—DEADLINE 14 October !!
[ ] ____ I wish to order Pacific Oyster grow bags with 100 Pacific Oyster seeds. Pacific Oysters are large oysters for maximum water filtering and environmental cleanup. Price includes delivery and planting @ $54.50 each (sales tax included).
[ ] ____ NEW THIS YEAR: I wish to order Olympia Oyster grow bags with 100 Olympia Oyster seeds. Olympia Oysters are tiny native oysters. Price includes delivery and planting @ $54.50 each (sales tax included).
[ ] ____ Sets of 100 Pacific Oyster seeds only for reseeding. Pacific Oysters are large oysters for maximum water filtering and environmental cleanup. Price includes delivery and reseeding your existing bags @ $27.50 each (sales tax included).
[ ] ____ NEW THIS YEAR: Sets of 100 Olympia Oyster seeds only for reseeding. Olympia Oysters are tiny native oysters. Price includes delivery and reseeding existing bags @ $27.50 each (sales tax included).
[ ] ____ Sets of 100 Pacific Oyster seeds (you pick up at my house) @ $23.50 each (sales tax included).
[ ] ____ NEW THIS YEAR: Sets of 100 Olympia Oyster seeds (you pick up at my house) @ $23.50 each (sales tax included).
[ ] ____ Please place my oyster seeds at this location: _______________________________________.
[ ] ____ Please place seeds at location chosen by volunteers.
[ ] ____ Enclosed is my check payable to “Dan Mazur”.
[ ] ____ I’d like to use my credit card. Please telephone, email, or write your card details here:
Number __________________________________________Expires _____________
[ ] _____ I want to volunteer!! Please let me know how I can help.
Everyone, Please Provide Your Name___________________________Address__________________________________
_____________________Phone__________________________Email____________________________
Thanks for caring about Good Water Quality (Pacific Oysters) and Native Olympia Oysters and Protecting Henderson Inlet !!
Mail/Contact: Dan Mazur, 2017 East Bay Drive, Olympia, WA 98506. Phone: 360-250-3407. Email – [email protected] . Or drop your order form and check into our locked mailbox on the street!