Committee highlights oyster‑garden volunteer work to support back‑bay habitat

Members described a recent community oyster‑gardening effort to seed reefs and improve local water filtration and habitat in the back bay.

Sharon Haggstrom explained the process: volunteers collect cleaned oyster shells from restaurants, sun‑dry them, thread them onto wire to make garden units and then place them under docks in brackish back‑bay water where baby oysters can attach and form reef habitat. "It's essentially the same thing encouraging reef growth," she said, noting oysters are filter feeders that improve water quality.

Committee members suggested a community outreach day with local oyster bars, the Kousa Waterkeepers and volunteers to scale the effort and asked staff to help identify appropriate placement sites (under docks and in tidal zones where oysters can be periodically exposed). The committee noted that reef structures generally self‑regulate and do not typically require dredging or removal at the scale discussed.

The committee agreed to explore outreach and partnerships with local organizations and to look for opportunities to coordinate with the Moundhouse for distribution of educational materials.