Baltimore Employees Preserve Local Oyster Population

World Ocean Day, June 8, unites and rallies people around the world to protect and restore our blue planet. In honor of the occasion, Franklin Templeton’s Global Citizenship is highlighting a unique initiative in Baltimore. Since 2013, employees have helped to preserve the oyster population and improve the water quality in Baltimore through participation in the Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership. The program was created by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, in collaboration with local government, business and community partners.

In this program, baby oysters, called oyster spat, are grown at designated oyster garden locations in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, late September through June. At the end of the season, the matured oysters are taken by boat to a protected oyster sanctuary in the Patapsco River, where they will live the rest of their lives.

Oyster gardeners, including FT employee volunteers, are responsible for preparing the baby oyster spat for their nine months of protected growth in cages , cleaning the oyster cages and releasing the oysters into the oyster sanctuary. .

In addition to restoration, the goal of the Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership is to train its volunteers to become community scientists and oyster advocates who can speak to others about the pollution challenges facing the Baltimore Harbor and the role that oysters play in improving water health. A full-grown oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water every day.

The 2020–2021 oyster gardening season is wrapping up with 40,000 oyster spat being transported from their cages to the oyster sanctuary. During the pandemic, Waterfront Partnership staff have tended the cages when Franklin Templeton volunteers haven’​t been able to participate in this activity. Employee volunteers in Baltimore are very much looking forward to a new oyster gardening season starting in September.

“Oyster gardening has been a great way to connect with like-minded colleagues around an initiative that does nothing but strengthen our local ecosystem as well as our bond as coworkers.”  says Tim Addicks, Manager, Corporate Real Estate and Facilities

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of April 30, 2021. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.