Beyond the Garden: Oyster Restoration

The Green LOINS Garden Group was honored to welcome Laurie Sorabella, aka the Oyster Queen, this winter to tell us all about her work in oyster restoration in Hampton Roads. Ms. Sorabella is the Oysters Project Coordinator for Lynnhaven River Now, and the executive director of Oyster Reef Keepers of Virginia, an organization she created in response to the depletion of our oyster reefs in the Chesapeake and Lynnhaven Bays. Through her work she helps to replenish our oyster beds and educate others in the importance of protecting these miraculous, hard-working filters and guardians of our local bays.

Four hundred years ago there were 100 times more oysters in the Chesapeake and Lynnhaven Bays. Records show that the oyster reefs reached 15 feet deep. Boaters could see 60 feet down into the water because the oyster reefs kept the water so clean and clear. Today we have 90 percent fewer oysters and thus dramatically reduced water quality.

What has contributed to this decline in our oyster population? Oysters have been over-harvested for food, and their shells have been used in various ways outside of the water. Ground oyster shells have been mixed into farm fields fore fertilization, into chicken feed for nutritional boosting, and have been used to pave driveways. Oyster shells can be returned to the ocean to become homes for future oysters and Ms. Sorabella is spreading the word.

Why are oysters so important? Oysters filter water. One oyster the size of the palm of your hand can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day from March through December in our area. Oyster reefs also provide protection and food for various sea life. Oysters are what Ms. Sorabella calls a Keystone Species—they play a critical role by giving us information about the quality of our waterways.

We’re running out of oysters shells, so what can we do? Whole Foods and The Virginia Marine Science Museum are drop-off sites for oyster shell collection. We can also support the endeavors of people like Ms. Sorabella who are successfully implementing alternative oyster habitats like oyster castles made from recycled porcelain, granite or concrete.

Ms. Sorabella led the Green LIONS Garden Group students in creating their own filters using various materials. Pebbles, cotton balls, coffee filters and more were tested to mimic the oyster’s filtering ability. Teams of students then filtered dirty water to assess their designs. Some good results, but nowhere near as effective as the mighty oyster.

Ms. Sorabella and her husband Bob Carroll run an exciting and action-packed summer camp series that allows kids from ages 7-15 real life experience with a wide array of sea life including oysters. You can find more information about their Virginia Beach Sea Camp here. Seeing the wonder of our local sea life in action helps students connect how daily decisions they make concerning their impact on the environment affects the health of sea life, our waterways and ourselves.

End of Year in Pictures

As we transition on the calendar from 2014 to 2015 the garden program also transitions from a growing season to a winter slumber. As our activity in the garden lessens we turn inside to different subjects and activities. These lessons help to round out our program curriculum. While learning to grow food and tend plants are important skills in themselves, our program strives to go a step further and encourage students to think of each decision they may throughout the day in their lifestyles. Can they choose to care for the earth throughout the day? What they choose to wear; what they choose to eat; where they choose to buy their family’s food; what they choose to bring into their home; how they choose to dispose of their waste and can they reduce it all together. These are many of the avenues we choose to go down, but they are all connected when we take a broader look at how we live on this planet.

Enjoy our “end of year” pictures. We sold many of our vegetables at vegetable sales, we were excited to welcome a miniature garden designer and a farmer/soap maker, and we celebrated the winter solstice by making edible ornaments for our garden visitors. More importantly, we entered 2015 with shining hope of a bountiful Spring harvest to come.

Your Own Garden Is As Local As You Can Get

As Fall sweetens the garden greens and the peppers and herbs start to wind down for the year, the students of the Green LIONS Garden Group harvested garden produce to sell to teachers and parents. First we made signs to advertise the event. Then we loaded up baskets of beautiful veggies to showcase our garden produce. Finally, students divided into groups to visit teachers and school administrators to practice their selling techniques and public speaking skills. They were also required to collect money, make change, harvest to order and deliver the orders they received. Budding entrepreneurs!

Harvesting vegetables they grew themselves from a garden they help to maintain is the ultimate lesson in eating locally. We explore many lessons in this program from gardening to waste reduction to pollination. We jump around a bit dipping our toes in different areas of environmentalism and sustainability. Students learn to feel empowered by how they can make a difference with attainable goals like recycling and water conservation. But ultimately this garden program teaches students the importance and value of supporting local growers, producers, artisans and business owners, and growing some of our own healthy food. Not only does this help our community and local economy, but it has a butterfly effect of helping heal the planet.

At our last meeting, students saw a tangible example of how making a simple choice of cooking a bowl of pasta can be a chance to make a better choice. By weaving a ball of yarn into a large web with 26 different steps in the process of obtaining a jar of pasta sauce—from the soil where a tomato plant will grow all the way up to the cashier at the grocery store who takes your money for the jar of sauce—students saw all of the steps and people involved in our food system. Another scenario was offered—one where it is summer and we have a pot of tomatoes and basil growing on our patio. We walk out to harvest our own ingredients to make a tomato sauce for our pasta. We were able to cut our process from 26 to 10 steps.

We also learned what vegetables and fruits grow so we can strive to eat what is in season. Students assembled a Local and Seasonal Food Wheel to use with their families when shopping for produce. It isn’t always possible to only eat what is in season, but just a few well-chosen items can lesson our carbon footprint. With fewer miles to travel, local produce helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Small choices make big impacts. When we choose to buy local, seasonal produce at farmers’ markets or grow our own we are voting with our dollars to have cleaner air and soil. We put money back into our economy and enjoy fresher, more nutritious produce. Everyone can grow something for their family even a small pot of herbs in a windowsill. There are ample options in our community to find local produce through farmers’ markets and mindful grocery stores. This blog has a list of some of those venues for anyone to reference.