The World War II-era theme of “Keep Calm and Carry On” seemed incongruous with the barrage of dire environmental statistics, but the 2025 State of the Bays report on Long Island’s waterways, delivered by Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences on April 2 at the university’s Southampton campus, did include some encouraging, albeit smaller scale, developments with respect to mitigation.

Oysters are more than a classic on menus in the D.C. area. They play a key role in filtering the Chesapeake Bay. Volunteers known as oyster gardeners help raise oysters for this purpose. News4 got an up-close look at oyster gardening from a woman who has worked as a volunteer for more than 20 years. She described the work as fulfilling.

A cage filled with empty-looking oyster shells sits in front of Kellie Fiala on the Canton Waterfront promenade. A crowd of eager high school students from the Baltimore Lab School gather around her as she lifts up a shell for all to see.