North Fork Polar Bears dive into new eelgrass restoration project

The North Fork Polar Bears are kicking off their winter season this weekend by launching their first ever coastal resiliency project at Truman’s Beach in Orient.

The Polar Bears partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Marine program or a “Back to the Bays” initiative to establish a new stewardship site for eelgrass, which supports water quality and habitat improvement in North Fork waters.

The aim of the “Back to the Bays” initiative is to restore and monitor eelgrass, the North Fork’s dominant local seagrass species. Meadows of eelgrass are the most biodiverse marine habitats in the region, according to CCE Marine. The eelgrass beds also lessen erosion from storms, capture excess nutrients and sequester carbon to combat ocean acidification and climate change.

On Sunday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m., the groups will co-host a Marine Meadows workshop, during which adult eelgrass shoots will be brought to shore to be processed in biodegradable burlap planting units.

Once they are stocked up, these eelgrass “tortillas” will be planted at a new restoration site, providing essential habitat for finfish and shellfish and helping to improve water quality and resilience along local shorelines.

Lead polar bear Patricia Garcia-Gomez said the group partnered with Cornell “for so many reasons, but mostly because they are so committed and enthusiastic and hands-on in the work they are doing.

“This is our first expression of our partnership with ‘Back to the Bays’ and the first time that we get to do something positive for the sea,” she said.

Ms. Garcia-Gomez said some of the proceeds from a cold plunge fundraiser last year will go toward creating the new stewardship site, “where we will actively plant and maintain” eelgrass and, later, oyster stocks.

She said it’s essential to honor and protect the fragile local marine environment, especially for a group that cold plunges in the bays every weekend all winter.

“These are the waters we’re surrounded by and we’re in them. Let’s do what we can as people to help restore them — and we can do a lot,” she said.

Last season the North Fork Polar Bears saw their highest numbers ever, said Dafydd Snowdon- Jones, who founded the group with his partner, Ms. Garcia-Gomez. The intrepid band of cold plunge enthusiasts who meet at an Orient beach each Sunday morning from mid-October until mid-May was founded in 2020 with just three people. By New Year’s Day, 2021, there were 10 members. Now more there are more than 140 Polar Bears on the group’s lively WhatsApp channel and an extensive email list for those who are curious but not yet ready to dive in ([email protected]). There’s also an Instagram account with more than 1,200 followers.

Sunday morning’s workshop will be followed by the Polar Bears’ first cold plunge of the new season.