In a few short hours, you can make a real impact on the environment.

Oyster gardening protects and grows the oyster population to someday filter the Lynnhaven River and Chesapeake Bay.

People like Mimi Boseman are already improving water quality. Her tiny oyster reef on Little Neck Creek started with just a handful of tiny oysters. With care, they're growing nicely.

Boseman is one of about 300 oyster gardeners in Hampton Roads.  They’re everyday people committed to protecting this vital species.

Every couple of months, she repeats a simple process. First, she checks her oyster reef for predators that could eat the baby oysters.

"I think they call these guys sea quirts, and they eat the nutrients that the oysters should be eating," she explains.

Then, she washes the algae from the oyster shells.

She says there’s nothing to it.

“I figure I have the privilege of living on the water, and I need to take care of it," she stresses.

This summer, Boseman's young oysters will be added to the reefs in the Lynnhaven River where, for the first time in many years, the oyster population is growing and water quality is improving.

Scientists say each tiny bag of baby oysters can produce as many as a trillion oysters in a single year -- each acting like filters in a fish tank able to clean up to 60 gallons of water a day.

"We have a lot of oysters in the Lynnhaven and we've seen those oysters grow since 1998 when we started the oyster gardening effort," says Christy Everette with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

While the bay’s overall water quality is better, experts say there’s much more to do.

With a 150,000 people moving to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay each year, a cleaner bay remains a challenge.

You don’t have to live on the water to be an oyster gardener. It costs just $25 to get a bag of baby oysters and not much more beyond that.