The Consortium is collaborating with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Restoration Center, and other partners to help students understand the interconnectivity between coastal habitat restoration and recreational fisheries. The two-year project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Fish Habitat Partnership program.
In 2023, 180 students at Edith L. Frierson Montessori Elementary School, a Title I school on Wadmalaw Island, learned about the importance of oyster- and salt-marsh habitat restoration and how these habitats are crucial to healthy fish populations. First, the students participated in the Consortium-led From Seeds to Shoreline® program by collecting Spartina alterniflora seeds, germinating the seeds, and growing the marsh grass until it was ready for planting. Then they worked with SCDNR S.C. Oyster Recycling and Enhancement program staff to apply a cement coat to derelict crab traps and used the traps to construct oyster reefs. They built an oyster reef at Cherry Point boat landing on Bohicket Creek and planted the marsh grass behind it to create a living shoreline. Finally, the students’ experience culminated in fishing trips with partnering charter boat captains and crabbers at previously restored habitats.
In 2024, the program will expand to include students at Burke High School in Charleston, providing habitat restoration and recreational fishing opportunities to underrepresented communities and fostering the next generation of natural resources stewards.
For more information, contact Morgan Treon, Marine Education Specialist, at morgan.treon@scseagrant.org.
Frierson Elementary School students explore an oyster bag to learn about the organisms living in oyster reefs. Photo courtesy of Morgan Treon, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.