Oyster conservation in the Chesapeake Bay will be the focus of an informative talk from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Phillips-Dawson House, 137 Bank St.

The talk is the latest in a series of “Afternoon Conversations.” This partnership between Suffolk Public Library and the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society allows for discussions on regional history and other local topics of interest.

The speaker on Wednesday will be Heather Lockwood, the Virginia Oyster Restoration Specialist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Lockwood will dive into the history of oyster harvesting in the Chesapeake Bay region — including Suffolk — and talk about the foundation’s ongoing conservation initiatives.

“I’m going to have a tank with some oysters and other bay critters (as well),” she said.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation was founded in 1967 and is the largest, independent conservation group that’s dedicated to reducing pollution in the Chesapeake’s six-state, 64,000-square-mile watershed, according to cbf.org.

Oysters are a crucial part of that mission, and the foundation has been repopulating the bay with help from oyster gardeners and through its “Save Oysters Shells” recycling program. One of the public shell recycling drop-off locations is at Bennett’s Creek Park in Suffolk, beside the parking lot and in front of the boat ramp and fishing pier.

Visit suffolkpubliclibrary.com for more information on the Wednesday talk, and cbf.org for more on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.