Volunteers Needed for Oyster Shell Projects in April
Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers to build an oyster shell bar to restore the shoreline of MacDill AFB on Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2. Click on date to register for the project. We'll need some personal information from you in the registration process: your middle initial, the state who issued your driver's license, driver's license number & the expiration date of your license for MacDill's security clearance. The minimum age for volunteers is 18 years old for this project. You must have a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and car insurance to drive onto the base.
We also need help to build an oyster shell bar to restore the shoreline of McKay Bay on Thursday, April 9 from 9:45am - 12:45am, Friday, April 10 from 9am - noon and Saturday, April 11 from 9am - noon. Click on date to register for the project. The minimum age to participate is 15 years old. The meeting location is Desoto Park, 2617 Corrine St., Tampa, 33605.
Oyster shell projects involve shoveling fossilized shell into mesh bags, transporting the bags to the project site and placing oyster shell bags on the shoreline to create a series of oyster bars. It is pretty physical labor with oyster shell bags weighing around 30 pounds each. The goal is to restore lost habitat systems to the bay, prevent further erosion of the shoreline and improve water quality through natural biological filtration.