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Baltimore's beloved Memorial Stadium sits in pieces at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, and soon the handiwork of fourth-graders from Clearspring Elementary School in Damascus will be added to the rubble in an effort to rejuvenate Maryland's oyster population.

The students recently built 120-pound concrete oyster reef balls that will be part of the Memorial Stadium Oyster Reef Sanctuary Project to repopulate the northern Chesapeake Bay with the shellfish that have been fished away over the past decades.

"It's a wonderful project," said Elaine Whalen, the science teacher in charge of the project at Clearspring. "It's a hands-on way to get excited to be part of preserving the environment."

The students have joined other fourth-graders from Burtonsville Elementary School in Montgomery County and four schools in Prince George's County in the preservation project. More than two dozen schools in Howard County are also participating.

The oyster reef balls are hollow globes of cement that serve as habitats for the oysters.

The students stood impatiently in a circle around the makeshift construction site — a blue tarp in the hallway. Whalen assigned tasks such as stirring the cement mixture or hammering in fasteners so the mold stayed securely closed.

"Are you ready to get dirty?" Whalen said.

"Yes," the class replied.

"Say, ‘I want to get dirty,'" she said.

"I want to get dirty," the class answered.

The Oyster Reef Sanctuary Project began in 2002 when the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science teamed with private and state agencies, including the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, to help repopulate the Chesapeake Bay with oysters.

The concrete from Memorial Stadium after it was torn down was used as part of the project.

Sandy August, a community outreach representative from WSSC, oversees the Montgomery County schools that participate in the project.

"From WSSC's point of view, it's an awareness thing," she said. "It's tough to get kids to go out and pick up trash along the beach. It's kind of boring. But you start with a project like this that's very hands on and fun and it begins that awareness. Then you ask them to pick up trash and they're more likely to do it."

Learning about the Chesapeake Bay is part of the curriculum for Whalen's fourth grade class, which is part of the school's Elementary Center Program for the Highly Gifted.

But the project is not without its challenges. Whalen said she needs the help of several parent volunteers to help wrangle the students.

"This is an extremely big undertaking," she said. "Some of the parents are tired. I'm tired, too. But every group [of students] that comes out is so excited."

The students began by preparing the mold, smearing oil on the inside and hammering it into place on a wooden platform. One student spread sand around the edges so wet concrete didn't seep out.

Next, inflatable rubber bladders were placed inside the mold, which create open space after the concrete dries. Finally, students took turns mixing the cement in a plastic tub as Whalen rolled up her sleeves and shoveled the mixture into the mold.

The fourth-graders at Clearspring made six reef balls. Theirs will join the 63 that were added to the Memorial Stadium rubble last year, and the 100 to 120 that are planned to be added this year, August said.

Within an hour, construction was complete. The mold was topped off with the remaining cement and the students were led back into the classroom.

There was no climactic finish or exciting finale, but organizers say the students will have a lifetime of satisfaction knowing the helped restore the environment.

"This is one of those experiences they'll never forget," August said.