Marsh Mania Month
- June 03, 2021
- News
We are excited to offer Marsh Mania as an IN-PERSON event for 2021, so be ready for the wet and muddy marsh grass planting fun! Though Marsh Mania is normally a single-day, large-scale marsh planting event, we will instead be offering several smaller Marsh Mania days in the month of June to spread volunteers out into smaller, safer groups. In 2020, the Galveston Bay Foundation had tremendous success implementing Covid-19 protocol during marsh planting activities.
The June Marsh Mania event days are now full but don’t worry, Galveston Bay Foundation will host another Marsh Mania event in Fall 2021, so check back for updates here or subscribe to our volunteer email list!
Thank you to Aramco for their generous support of Marsh Mania.
Sponsor Marsh Mania Month
Marsh Mania is made possible through donations from local corporate donors, all of whom are recognized as Marsh Mania sponsors. In addition to this request for funding, Galveston Bay Foundation invites corporate employees to volunteer their time to help plant marsh grass at any of the designated Marsh Mania sites. Download the 2021 Marsh Mania Sponsor Packet. Contact Greg Loushine at gloushine@galvbay.org for more information on sponsoring Marsh Mania.
The History of Marsh Mania:
The “Mania” began in 1999, when GBF hosted the first-ever “Marsh Bash” for Galveston Bay. This one-day event set a national record when 1,500 volunteers planted nearly 70,000 stems of smooth cordgrass to create 14.5 acres of new habitat at eight sites around the Bay. Marsh Bash 1999 was a huge success and earned GBF two awards: the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence in the civic/nonprofit category and the First Place Gulf Guardian Award in the civic/nonprofit category from the Gulf of Mexico Program. Also, for breaking the record for the largest volunteer-based restoration event, GBF received a case of Florida oranges from Tampa BayWatch, our sister organization in Florida and the previous record holder!
Today, Marsh Mania is the nationally-recognized, signature community-based wetlands restoration and education event of the Galveston Bay area. The goal of Marsh Mania is to involve local citizens in hands-on wetlands restoration activities while increasing their awareness and appreciation of wetland habitats and functions. In its 21 years, Marsh Mania has involved nearly 8,200 community volunteers in the restoration of over 212 acres of vital salt marsh habitat at 97 sites around Galveston Bay.
Volunteers are the heart and soul of Marsh Mania. Volunteers proudly identify themselves as “Marsh Maniacs” when they return each spring to participate in this annual event.
