By Sarah Malik
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Pulling her purple latex gloves as far up as she can, Kyanna Graham, 35, a package handler at FedEx’s BWIR location, bends down to grab a mussel from an orange crate and holds it to a digital caliper. She and her group take turns measuring mussels and recording their sizes on a clipboard.
“I have not been to the Anacostia Watershed and I am from the area,” Graham said. “Not in all of my 35 years.”
In honor of Earth Day, BWIR’s FedEx branch partnered with the Anacostia Watershed Society April 17 at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens National Park in Washington D.C. The group documented the growth of native mussel populations that help keep the Anacostia River clean.
FedEx BWIR volunteers measured and recorded data on three native freshwater mussel populations: the alewife floater, eastern pondmussel and eastern lampmussel.
Native mussel populations filter between 10 and 20 gallons of water per day, said Ariel Trahan, director of River Restoration Programs at the Anacostia Watershed Society. The organization began propagating and studying native mussel species in August 2018.
Graham said she valued her experience while helping to collect data for the Anacostia Watershed Society.
“I enjoyed the comradery and teamwork of working with my fellow ‘FedEx-ians,’” Graham said. “I especially enjoyed the setting of the Anacostia River.”
The Anacostia Watershed covers 176 miles of the District of Columbia, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. It’s home to over a million people. Each year, an estimated 2 billion gallons of raw sewage and storm water is dumped directly into the river. Native freshwater mussel species play an important role in keeping the Anacostia River clean.
Because of habitat destruction and water pollution, the number of native mussel populations began to significantly decrease. The Anacostia Watershed Society works with local communities and corporations to help fund and bring awareness to their cleanups. They dream of a swimmable and fishable Anacostia River by 2025.
Paul Peralez, 32, is an operations manager at FedEx BWIR. The experience was fun and rewarding, he said.
“It was a good team-building exercise and experience,” Peralez said, “to be able to help reduce pollution made me feel positive about upcoming Earth Day.”
FedEx Cares is a campaign aimed at giving back to local communities and organizations in over 500 cities around the world. By dedicating their time, FedEx employees aim to make a difference through their community service. In total, FedEx Cares has volunteered 90,500 hours of volunteer time in the fall alone.
Graham learned from her experience about native mussel populations, she said.
“I enjoyed learning things I did not know before, such as the process of reproduction of mussels,” she said. “There are so many native mussels and they are not the delicious mussels that you can eat. The saltwater acts as a marinade.”
Jorge Bogantes Montero, Natural Resources Specialist for the Anacostia Watershed Society, said native freshwater mussels are safe to eat, but not necessarily the best choice for consumption.
“They aren’t delicious,” Bogantes Montero said. “I’ve heard that they taste like mud.”
Cold spring weather did not keep spirits down, according to Paris Scott, 22, a package handler at FedEx BWIR.
“It was cold, but very educational,” Scott said. “I learned that a mussel is dead if its mouth is open. I didn’t know that. There are so many kinds, I had no idea.”
After all of the mussel species were measured, Latarsha Tillery said she greatly enjoyed the volunteer experience.
Tillery, 45, is also a package handler at FedEx BWIR. It was her first time volunteering and her experience sparked a new passion.
“I have always wanted to volunteer,” Tillery said. “It started something in me. Something that was always there but needed to be woken up.”