SPEA students rebuild Gulf Coast oyster reefs

Several members of The Nature Conservancy’s Indiana Chapter along with 23 School of Public and Environmental Affairs students went to Mobile Bay, Ala. from Jan. 21 to 23 to help with the efforts of the 100-1000: Restore Coastal Alabama Project.

This project’s goal is to build 100 miles of oyster reef and grow 1,000 miles of marsh and sea grass.

About 545 volunteers carried 10-20 pound bags of oyster shells through knee-high mud to build a reef almost one kilometer long after two days of work, according to The Nature Conservancy’s website.

Vicky Meretsky, SPEA professor and advisory trustee for The Nature Conservancy’s Indiana Chapter, made the trip to Alabama possible for the SPEA students by covering gas and room costs.

“I saw this opportunity and thought that this is the kind of thing that students would love to do,” Meretsky said. “Any kind of experience that students can get in restoration processes are a plus for hiring opportunities in the future.”

Volunteers, such as graduate student Jeremy Degler, were grateful to be a part of the
project. 

“I think that it is important for people to share in a sense of responsibility when it comes to America’s environmental problems,” Degler said.

The students said not only were they able to help in a restoration process, but were also able to learn the importance of a task that is far from the Midwest.

“The oyster reefs provide homes to so many different species, protection to the marshes and directly impact the fisheries,” graduate student Alysse Fultz said.
The Nature Conservancy hopes the efforts in the Gulf Coast will provide a habitat for shrimp, crab and fish. The reefs would not only help support local fisheries, but also help protect shores against erosion.

Restoration work in the Gulf was halted due to the oil spill that lasted three months last summer, and now environmental projects like this have greater importance, according to The Nature Conservancy’s website.

“When disasters like this happen, it is important that everyone does everything they can to help even if it isn’t in their own backyard,” graduate student Jessica Fulgoni said.

Degeler said volunteers worked in a long chain across the beach to pass the 17,000 bags of oyster shells to one another. Many people got stuck and fell into the mud throughout the day.

“We were working in a low tide, so it was basically a mud flat,” Degler said. “Being able to feel the sun on my face made the day extremely enjoyable.”

Graduate student Diya Bhattacherjee described the process of laying burlap bags to create stability and placing bags of oyster shells on top of them.

Fultz said the students were equipped with rubber boots, rubber gloves, glasses and warm clothes to begin work on the beach.

“It is easy to destroy nature, but putting the pieces back together is a daunting task,” Bhattacherjee said.

The students said after two days of work, they headed back to Indiana having met volunteers from across the country while helping rebuild Gulf Coast reefs.

“It’s funny how quickly you can bond with someone almost knee-deep in mud and covered in oyster dust,” Fultz said.