South Beaches Neighbors: Oyster reef in the making

Lorraine Thompson

South Beaches News

Biologists, volunteers, local restaurants and high school students are working together to create a man-made oyster reef using shucked oyster shells from local participating restaurants. The project coordinator, Lauren Flynn, will provide oyster visual demonstrations and describe how she and volunteers are building a reef that will restore a lost shoreline and lure oysters to rebuild oyster beds where they once thrived in local waters.

Flynn will present a program from 10 to 11 a.m. June 19 at the GTM Research Reserve field station in Marineland.

One of the many values oysters have to humans and the marine environment is to filter pollutants from the water and thus help maintain water quality. Together, the GTM Research Reserve, in partnership with the Friends of the GTM NERR and St. Johns Technical High School plan to boost oyster habitat. The GTM Research Reserve site is located just off A1A at 9741 Ocean Shore Blvd. at the south end of the Town of Marineland. For reservations call 823-4500.

Learn about invasive cactus moth control and the conservation of our native cacti at the June meeting of the Florida Native Plant Society. The local Sea Oats chapter meets at 7 p.m. June 19 at the St. Augustine Beach City Hall, 2200 A1A South.

Emily Montgomery, coastal training coordinator for Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, will discuss the invasive cactus moth (Cactoblastis cactorum) and the conservation implications to our native prickly pear cactus (Opuntia stricta). This cactus is listed as a threatened plant species in Florida and plays an important role in coastal plant communities.

The program is free and open to the public.For information, visit http://www.fnps.org or call 347-2704.

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South Beaches: Oyster reef in the making