In Annapolis, Md., Chris Hopkinson plans to attempt an ambitious 240-mile paddleboard journey down the Chesapeake Bay this September to raise money for planting oysters in the Bay. Oysters are really the heart of the Bay, Hopkinson said. As the oyster goes, so goes the Bay. The oyster population in the Bay is at a historic low, which experts say is a big problem for the health of the water. They are critical filter feeders. One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, said Karis King of the Oyster Recovery Partnership. When Hopkinson proposed the 240-mile journey to raise $200,000 to buy oysters from a hatcher, King recalls, "I think we were all speechless. There was a silence in the room because it was such a huge undertaking. 'Ten dollars puts a thousand oysters in the Bay,' Hopkinson noted. While his journey is a big undertaking, 'I just want everybody to enjoy the Bay, my kids and our future generation. I think we have that responsibility now.'"
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