Mussel Basket Maintenance at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Note: This event is weather dependent. If you are sick or exhibiting symptoms associated with COVID-19 (such as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, etc.), please do not come to the event and consider joining us another time. Date : Monday, October 5, 2026 Time : 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Meeting Location : Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens (KAG): 1550 Anacostia Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20019 (map) The Deanwood Metro Station is about 0.5 miles away from this location (about an 11 minute walk) Parking is available at this location Project : Volunteers will help AWS with freshwater mussel basket maintenance at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. During this workday we will be counting and organizing hatchery-raised mussels in culturing baskets as well as cleaning and maintaining the baskets. In 2015, we started surveying the native species of freshwater mussels in the Anacostia River to understand their diversity and abundance. In 2018 we started a mussel propagation project partnering with the Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Virginia collecting local broodstock from the Anacostia River. Volunteers are critical to keep this project going and to meet our goal of enhancing mussel populations to increase their water filtration capacity to help clean our river. Physical Level of Difficulty: Easy to Moderate – This event will involve lifting, bending, and walking. Participants will be expected to wear closed-toed shoes for the duration of the event. If you think any of the physical requirements will be problematic, please let us know. Registration is required . Please register prior to the event date to receive additional information about the event. For more information before the event, please contact Emily Castelli at [email protected] or call 301-699-6204 x103. Click here to register