One of the projects that I am working on is a collaborative effort with the Sandwich STEM Academy and the Sandwich Department of Natural Resources. One goal of the project is to set up an outdoor classroom space at Scorton's Creek in East Sandwich. The first phase of this project is to collect data with students about water quality. This data will be used in an application to Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Division to petition for shellfish restoration. The end goal is to establish a population of oysters within the Scorton's Creek waterway that can be open to recreational shellfishing. This oyster population will most likely make a huge impact on water quality as well, by the removal of nitrogen from the ecosystem (in biomass consumed by oyster eaters) and the transformation or deposition of nitrogen to a more biologically usable form in fecal pellets. (The relationship between oysters and nitrogen removal is being studied by local scientists and graduate students at UMass Dartmouth.)
We want to use students to prove that the waterway is suitable for introducing oysters AND that oysters do aid in the removal of nitrogen. myObservatory is poised to help students collect data and to help decision makers and students analyze that data. Stay tuned for many more updates on the Scorton's Creek Project.
Here is a blog being written by the AmeriCorps volunteer, Amber, who is placed with the Sandwich Department of Natural Resources. I look forward to following her blog throughout this process!
Sounds Shell-fishy to Me by Amber Rosa
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