Friday, March 13, 2009

Shuck Off Event a Success- Grant Filing

While it has been cold and the oysters have been dormant, MOP has been active on their behalf. We finally have obtained our official non-profit status with our 501c-3 from the IRS. Special thanks to Foley and Hoag who helped us answer a few questions at the last minute. We also deeply appreciate the support of the Charlestown Waterfront Coalition who sheltered us under their designation in the early days. They also have been generous with contacts, grant leads and other support.

We have filed a grant application with the Mass Environmental
Trust requesting funding for continuing our work in the Charles River Estuary. This funding comes from the state's environmental license plate program. With this we are also looking to place oysters in the Neponset Estuary. We have the support of the Neponset River Watershed Association who will partner with us on that placement.

The Shuck-off! oyster night at Tavern on the Water was a big success raising over $500. For those of you who turned out, thank you for coming. For those who did not, we will be holding similar fun events in the future. Special thanks to Jim and Ally at Shuck Off. You can purchase their salty apparel at shuckoff.com.

The dive team is looking forward to getting back in the water to
check on the oysters in May. If you have access to an underwater camera please let us know. We would like to add photos to the web-site.