Safety Harbor, Oldsmar mayors unite to help bay

Oldsmar and Safety Harbor have long enjoyed their relationship as sister cities sitting at the top of upper Tampa Bay, including the recent return of the long-running Mayors’ Breakfast.

This year, Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel and Safety Harbor Mayor Joe Ayoub have decided to partner with the nonprofit Tampa Bay Watch on a friendly challenge called Save Our Bay, a unique project designed to get the communities to work together to help clean the waters of upper Tampa Bay.

The joint program is set to kick off with a vertical oyster garden workshop on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 9 a.m. at the pier shelter in Oldsmar’s R.E. Olds Park, where staff will provide supplies for participants to string oyster shells on rope materials that will be hung from private docks to help filter the bay waters.

“According to a water quality report provided by Tampa Bay Watch, our upper Tampa Bay waters are the least healthy of the entire bay,” Seidel said in a news release announcing the Save Our Bay program. “Upon hearing this information, I reached out to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and learned of the benefits of Vertical Oyster Gardens. A healthy oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, which will help clean our bay through these sustainable efforts.”