Volunteer Spotlight, Friends of Gamble Rogers
Friends of Gamble Rogers
Friends of Gamble Rogers is the recipient of the 2022 CSO of the Year for Greener Initiative.
The Friends of Gamble Rogers State Park citizen support organization initiated the Shuck and Share Oyster Shell Recycling Program in partnership with the Marine Discovery Center in 2016.
Shuck and Share was established to provide a stable source of shell for shoreline and oyster restoration projects. Since the program’s inception in 2016, volunteers have contributed over 1,670 hours to collect 191,937 pounds of oyster shell.
A living shoreline uses natural resources to stabilize shorelines. Salt marshes, mangroves, seagrasses and oyster reefs are adapted to life in the coastal zone, and they effectively prevent erosion by creating complex surfaces that dampen wave energy and trap sediments. A living shoreline is a type of nature-based, or “green,” infrastructure that incorporates aspects of the natural world in stabilization methods. Oysters and salt marsh plants are common species associated with living shorelines in lower wave-energy settings.
In North Peninsula State Park, the friends group has contributed a total of 1,274 bags of oyster shell for living shoreline projects with 474 of that being deployed for the shoreline project completed in June 2022.
Partners include:
- Chris Schlageter, Project Manager at Young Bear Environmental Consulting, secured the necessary permits, created the living shoreline design, and coordinated project workdays with Park Services Specialist Stephanie York and the St. Johns River Water Management District.
- Ron Brockmeyer, Environmental Scientist V with the water management district, contributed the use of a barge to transport shoreline materials and staff.
- Captain Neill Holland, the Director of Ocean Aid 360, contributed abandoned and derelict blue-crab traps he retrieved from waters in the Tampa Bay area.
- Park Rangers Kevin Callahan and Jim Valentine used the park’s tractor to load shoreline materials onto the barge.
- Park Services Specialist Stephanie York recruited volunteers and participated in each stage of the project.
- Volunteers and CSO members Doug Adams, Jeff Bielanin, Ann Bradley, Dick Clement, Lyn Clement, Donna Dempsey, Bill Denny, Tom Green, Walt Mahler, Charlie Morrow, Chris Nelson, Christine Osypian, Tom Osypian, Dan Rutkowski, Jim Van Ness, Betty Villanova, Greg Wilson and Brian York collectively contributed 165 hours toward this project. Forty-seven hours were spent dipping 100 crab traps in concrete, 52 hours creating oyster shell bags, and 66 hours deploying materials in the water.
Thank you to all who contributed to the success of Shuck and Share.