Journey of an Oyster Shell

by Rinne Allen

Earlier this spring, 200,000 pounds of recycled oyster shells were barged over to Sapelo Island, Georgia.

They were unloaded, bag by bag.

And bag by bag…

…they were driven across the island, down dusty roads, through palmetto and pine trees.

Then, they were unloaded, again.

Community members, friends, and volunteers gathered on island to bag the recycled oystershell into smaller, biodegradable bags that will be placed in the saltmarsh.

Bagging the oystershell was exciting. The shell travels down PVC chutes into the bags with high velocity

Then, we had to get the boat in the water...

the shell into the boat…

then, into the marsh.

Soon, new baby oysters called spat will begin growing on the recycled oystershell and new oysters will form over time, creating not only a reef, but an entire habitat. This habitat will stabilize the marsh mud and also help slow down the sea water that infiltrates the community at certain times of the year.

Here you can see the newly placed shell in the background, and the shell placed last year in the foreground.

Recycled oyster shells with one year’s worth of new growth on them

This bald eagle watched us the whole time.