Students with the Episcopal School of Jacksonville are building artificial oyster habitats to be donated and installed at Christopher Creek in Nassau County to support the oyster populations in the North Florida area. These habitats are Pervious Oyster Shell Habitats – or POSH.
This year-long project is being done through the school’s AP Environmental Sciences (APES) classes. Students will build one POSH every week for donation and installation.
David Wandel, APES faculty member, is collaborating with Jimmy Tomazinis and Dr. Rafael Crowley, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Northeast Florida Aquatic Preserves Manager and University of North Florida coastal and port engineering professor, respectively, to see the POSH installed throughout Northeast Florida.
“Next year we’ll look into identifying a site for ourselves and writing the proposal for FDEP approval of deploying a strictly ESJ made artificial oyster reef,” said Wandel.
“This year has been an experimental year to familiarize ourselves with the process enough to walk students through making their own POSH, and so far it’s been a success,” Wandel added. “There are a whole host of environmental benefits to an artificial oyster reef. The POSH structures are really revolutionary when it comes to artificial oyster reef construction.”
