Oyster Education

On this wonderful adventure our education team took a local group of high schoolers from EdCorp out to St George Island State Park. There they investigated Vertical Oyster Gardens (VOGs) and natural oyster ecosystems. The goal for the students was to be able to identify what species are living inside or on top of oysters and what is the “big deal” about oysters. Looking for and counting spat numbers on the oysters was a big hit. Every student got to take a closer look at water quality along the shore while testing different levels of temperature, salinity, turbidity, and pH at 2 different locations. Students also got to take a closer look inside the intertidal zone while seining along the shore. Their search included pinfish, spot, pipefish, hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, and mud crabs, as well as multiple other species. This trip was a wonderful success as every student was excited to learn about oysters their ecosystems and their amazing qualities.