Oysters for a cause

Benjamin Erjavec, executive chef at The Oceanaire Seafood Room, is all about helping the environment, and he’s found an interesting way to do his part. He’s saving oyster shells from the restaurant for the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a 15-year-old nonprofit that puts oysters back into the Chesapeake Bay.

Here’s how it works: Once a week, discarded shells are picked up at Oceanaire (and other places around town) by the recovery program. They are washed thoroughly, and then baby oysters, or spat, are placed into the shells and put into the bay.

"It takes about three to five years to achieve a harvestable oyster, but we have to start somewhere." Ben wrote in an e-mail telling me about his efforts.

He’s determined to make a difference. "In one week, I had 16 (five-gallon) buckets full of shells," he said. Nice.