Recycled oyster shells to help clean up New River water naturally
MIAMI - Volunteers are preparing a recycled oyster shell to be repurposed. They have buckets of them. They're drilling a hole into them.
The next step is stringing the shells onto a cable. The "oyster rope" will eventually breed new life as it hangs from sea walls on the New River.
"Baby oysters like settling on oyster shells better than any other material. By doing so we were able to create additional oyster habitat," said Erik Neuguaard from Port Everglades.
He explains how oysters play a big role in cleaning up our waterways naturally. "One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day," Neuguaard said.
That translates into one oyster being able to filter enough water each year to fill a swimming pool. Eventually, the plan is to create larger oyster beds, meaning more of those living filters to clean more water.
The Kukulski family is here to help.
"We're a home school family of 2, so today is science for us," said mother Sherrie Kukulski
Delaney, 11, and her sister are getting a hands-on lesson in sustainability.
"People doing this can clean the waterways and here in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood Beach can make it look like the keys again," she said.
Mike Lambrechts is with the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida.
"Water's one of the biggest, not only economic drivers in our city but also one of the biggest recreational drivers in our city and county," Lambrechts said.
He said replenishing our oyster population is critical.
"We're known for water down here. This is South Florida. Us accepting we have dirty water here and not doing anything about it is unacceptable," he said.
Organizers are finalizing plans to latch 200 of these oyster ropes to the sea walls on the New River in Fort Lauderdale.
They hope to get them in the water in the next couple of months.