Peabody’s 4th and 5th graders are participating in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Grasses for the Masses program. Yesterday students planted seeds for their underwater grasses as part of a statewide effort to restore depleted populations of subaquatic vegetation in Virginia’s rivers. Underwater grasses serve many important purposes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including increasing oxygen levels in bodies of water, and providing critical habitat for endangered organisms, including the blue crab. Over the next three months, students will be monitoring their seedlings daily to check water temperature, skim for algae, and clean the water pumps and filters. Once the grasses have sprouted and grown strong roots, in early May a few students will head to Westover Plantation in Charles City County to plant their grasses in the James River! We’re so excited to be partnering with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for this important program.