Mosquito Lagoon Oyster Reef Restoration Receives $100,000 Donation from Disney�s Friends for Change

With the world losing many of its oyster reefs to overharvesting, disease and pollution, kids have stepped in and made a difference: Thanks to their votes, the Communities Helping Restore Oyster Reefs program managed by The Nature Conservancy in Florida recently received a $100,000 grant from Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green.

The Communities Helping Restore Oyster Reefs program netted the most online votes from kids on Disney’s Friends for Change among five habitat-restoration programs in the most recent phase of voting. The program distributes $1 million in grants to environmental causes over the course of a year.

Through Communities Helping Restore Oyster Reefs, citizen volunteers learn first-hand about one of the world’s most valuable natural resources — oyster reefs — while helping restore oyster reefs in Central Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon.

For the program, the Conservancy is working in partnership with University of Central Florida professor Linda Walters, applying her scientific method of “oyster restoration mats” created by attaching oyster shells to aquaculture grade plastic mesh. The mats are weighted down underwater, where they help restore depleted reefs by providing a stable foundation for new oysters to settle on.

The Conservancy also is collaborating with Brevard Zoo on a community outreach program about the importance of conserving and restoring oyster reefs.

Oyster reefs provide essential habitat for wildlife, including fish, crabs and shrimp. They also supply food for different types of birds, including the American oyster catcher, American bald eagle, osprey and brown pelican, and help filter water and protect the shoreline.

The time to save oyster reefs is now: A recent global assessment showed that 85 percent of the world’s oyster reefs have been lost.

“The Mosquito Lagoon is part of one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America, but the oyster reefs there have been severely degraded by boat traffic over the years,” said Anne Birch, The Nature Conservancy’s Florida director of coastal restoration. “This wonderful gift from Disney’s Friends for Change will help immensely with our efforts to conserve this precious natural resource.”