Some students and staff from ͹Ƶ spent their spring break giving back to the Hampton Roads community through volunteer work, including a trip to the Brock Environmental Center on March 6 to help the Chesapeake Bay Foundation with oyster and reef restoration. This is the second year of ͹Ƶ’s “alternative spring break” program which is led by the Office of Leadership and Learning. Photos Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Jackie Shannon, who manages the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia oyster restoration efforts, greets ͹Ƶ students and staff at the Brock Environmental Center for ͹Ƶ's alternative Spring Break. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Dominique Scott (left) and Alexis Leona work together to build an oyster cage. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Hafsah Sarfraz (left) and Jenn Grimm, director of ͹Ƶ’s Office of Leadership and Learning, install hog clips to keep the oyster cages secure. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Saige Hill, assistant director of ͹Ƶ’s Monarch Internship and Co-Op Office, works on an oyster cage. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

A group of ͹Ƶ students and staff work together preparing oyster cages. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

͹Ƶ students and staff sift through a pile of used oyster crates to see if any of them can be reused. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

͹Ƶ students and staff get a tour of the Brock Environmental Center. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Lenora Thorbjornsen, director of academic advising for Interdisciplinary Schools at ͹Ƶ, reads an educational display about oyster reefs in the lobby of the Brock Environmental Center. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

͹Ƶ students and staff learn about how the mobile oyster center operates. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

A pile of empty oyster shells that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation gathered from local restaurants. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

After the shells are bagged, they are arranged on pallets, forming what are referred to as "shell forests." Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

A woman talks to a group of ͹Ƶ students and faculty.
Two students work together on an oyster cage.
͹Ƶ students and faculty work on oyster cages.
A woman works on an oyster cage.
A group of students and staff work together on oyster cages.
Students and staff look through oyster cages.
Students and staff stand outside a building.
A group of students and staff stand inside a building lobby.
Students and staff on board an oyster barge.
A pile of oyster shells.
A pile of oyster shells on wooden pallets.

Jackie Shannon, who manages the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia oyster restoration efforts, greets ͹Ƶ students and staff at the Brock Environmental Center for ͹Ƶ's alternative Spring Break. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Dominique Scott (left) and Alexis Leona work together to build an oyster cage. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Hafsah Sarfraz (left) and Jenn Grimm, director of ͹Ƶ’s Office of Leadership and Learning, install hog clips to keep the oyster cages secure. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Saige Hill, assistant director of ͹Ƶ’s Monarch Internship and Co-Op Office, works on an oyster cage. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

A group of ͹Ƶ students and staff work together preparing oyster cages. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

͹Ƶ students and staff sift through a pile of used oyster crates to see if any of them can be reused. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

͹Ƶ students and staff get a tour of the Brock Environmental Center. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

Lenora Thorbjornsen, director of academic advising for Interdisciplinary Schools at ͹Ƶ, reads an educational display about oyster reefs in the lobby of the Brock Environmental Center. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

͹Ƶ students and staff learn about how the mobile oyster center operates. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

A pile of empty oyster shells that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation gathered from local restaurants. Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ

After the shells are bagged, they are arranged on pallets, forming what are referred to as "shell forests." Photo Chuck Thomas/͹Ƶ