Page 9 - Edge issue 4

monumental portion of Brevard County that affects each and every student at Edgewood.
Students now stand on the frontlines of the decision to protect or disregard the condition of the Lagoon. It is the raised voices of teens in our community that will make a change in how the IRL will continue on for generations of students that will follow us.
Cooperation between the youth of tomorrow and other organizations will make a monumental impact on the Lagoon.
One of these organizations is Restore Our Shores, which works to put these pressing issues into the hands of the public. The organization has adapted the use of oysters, which have the ability to filter approximately 50 gallons of water per day, to projects such as Oyster Gardening and Shuck and Share.
One such program is Oyster Gardening, which trains residents to be key participants in this project. Each volunteer receives bags of oyster shells covered in larvae which they then place in the water off their dock and monitor for six months, collecting data which helps determine the best place for new oyster reefs.
In addition to this program, the organization also partners with restaurants in their Shuck and Share program. This program thrives off of the collaboration of local restaurants who will collect empty oyster shells that come from the dinner tables in order to be reused throughout the restoration projects. More than 3.5 million pounds of shells have been collected with the help of places such as Molly’s Seafood Shack, Bonefish Willy’s, Fishlips, River Rocks, and more.
Playing another pivotal role in this issue is the Brevard Zoo as a whole. As part of their new expansion project, the Zoo has proposed an entire aquarium centralized around the Indian River Lagoon.
“One of the primary goals for the aquarium and conservation center is to create a ‘front porch’ for the Indian River Lagoon. We envision a place where locals and tourists can go to develop a better understanding of how to live alongside the Lagoon by taking action and finding answers to their questions,” said Elliot Zirulnik, Brevard Zoo Communications Manager.
The aquarium will allow guests from all across the world to see the Indian River Lagoon’s issues through educational opportunities and create an attraction that is substantially different from the general theme park setting of Orlando. It connects a diverse community with an issue crucial to our area. In addition to binding the community, it will also bring in promising amount of tourism for the local economy. The aquarium will be a big step in the right direction.
“We’re on the right track, but there are always more people we need to reach, just in Brevard County and especially throughout the state of Florida. This is a marathon not a sprint,” said Callie Shaffer, Conservation Outreach Coordinator.
These problems with the Indian River Lagoon have been present for years. While the community has worked hard on efforts to improve the Lagoon, this problem is still not solved. The Lagoon is better, but it is not at its best. The next generation of students and community members, along with the innovative solutions they bring to the table, will be instrumental in finally restoring the river to its former state. No one knows for sure how long it will take for the Lagoon to return back to its previous state, but what is obvious is that the sooner people take action, the sooner the Lagoon can revert back to it’s beautiful former condition.
STUDENTS
IN ACTION
In an effort to aid in the Lagoon’s problems, Dorian Hill, 11, has been a part of many efforts to make life- altering changes to the Lagoon’s state.
As a Zoo Teen at Brevard Zoo and a member of the Conservation Leaders team, Hill has made it his own personal mission to make an impact on a large scale. The Conservation Leaders, a group of dedicated students from across Brevard County, care deeply about the environment and what is in its future. Addressing many environmental issues in their event, the Youth Environmental Summit, they also specifically targeted the Indian River Lagoon as a main problem in our area.
The YES, which was planned, promoted, and executed by the team, devoted an entire panel to the Oyster Restoration, focused on the lagoon.
Hill, having lived in Brevard County his entire life, has been directly impacted by the affects of the Indian River Lagoon and wanted to be a part of a team that would further that mission.
“When I was a kid, I used to live right next to the IRL, and I would always see dolphins, manatees, and various fish,” Hill said. “Sights like these are what began my interest in wildlife and conservation.”
With his interest piqued, Hill wanted to introduce this pressing topic to the group of people he knows best: teenagers. Hill wants to bring the topic to the front lines of the very students that are beginning to find their place in the issues they care about as they start paving the way for what they want to pursue in projects and future careers. With the YES, Hill works to promote education about the environment in our area and spark interest in the minds of tomorrow.
“I hope that attendants, particularly high schoolers and younger students, will be influenced by the topics addressed during the YES and that they take these lessons to heart in order to work towards restoring and conserving the IRL for our wildlife to survive and thrive,” Hill said.
Hill wants to make a difference on a large scale and has even spread awareness to his fellow classmates. Working on the YES with his continued devotion, Hill still believes that they can find a solution to this pressing problem and he knows that the YES will be a step in the right direction.
“The Indian River Lagoon needed to be addressed in the YES because it is a very important part of the Florida ecosystem that is under threat from pollution. I believe that by addressing it during YES, more people will start to realize the importance of protecting this Lagoon,” Hill said.
Following the conclusion of last year’s event, Hill will be continuing on with this team of aspiring youth environmentalists in order to plan the next YES.8