Awww Shucks': FROGRS Deliver Thank You to Golden Lion for Support of Gamble Rogers State Park Program
FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. – Sharing a little love, the Friends of Gamble Rogers State Park (FROGRS, yes, you read that right) headed to the Golden Lion in Flagler Beach on Friday, September 27, to show their appreciation.
As the first restaurant to sign on in 2016, and the largest donor to the Shuck & Share Oyster Recycling Program overseen by the group of volunteers here locally, S&S program director Brian York said it was an opportunity to quantify the impact the Golden Lion and the program overall have had on the area's waterways along the Intracoastal Waterway where the shoreline restoration is taking place.
"It is a big and dirty job. A lot of strenuous work goes into not only cutting the wire, building the bags and then we have these bagging parties where we've had like Target Corp has come down and help with it," shared York.
York encourages the public to take a kayak tour from the park to learn more about the program and actually see the results of the implementation.
"It makes me very proud," he said.
The stats are stunning – with 300,000 pounds of oyster shells recycled through the program, 80% of those redistributed at Gamble Rogers State Park were donated from the Golden Lion.
The Golden Lion has provided 8,101 5-gallon buckets of oyster shells to the program. That's 24,030 pounds of oyster shells.
As part of a larger regional effort, the program originated out of the Marine Science Center in New Smyrna Beach and is working to restore shorelines from Washington Oaks State Park, Gamble Rogers and North Peninsula State Parks, Tomoka State Park and the Canaveral National Sea Shore. The shells become part of the living shoreline rehabilitation program providing habitat for oysters and other marine wildlife.
Oysters are credited for their effectiveness as a natural filtration system, and help restore the natural ecosystem according to Stephanie York, park services specialist for Gamble Rogers State Park.
"The artificial reefs that we do build with the oyster shells that is one of the main reasons to build these reefs, is to create more oysters to generate more life. Every oyster filters between 40 and 50 pounds of water a day so it keeps our waters clean, it keeps it healthy for all the habitat that lives in the water," she said.
She's proud to work with local restaurants to meet the needs of the program.
"It's amazing that they want to partner with us," said York. "It's a lot of work that they go through at the restaurant level to shuck all these shells and then keep them in specific places so our volunteers can come and pick them up. It's a huge win-win for both of us."
FROGRS President Greg Wilson says the program serves a number of purposes and is making an impact in communities across America.
"It's extremely important. We're not only taking the materials from the restaurants and recycling them into restoration materials, but we're keeping them out of landfills," said Wilson.
"It has a dual benefit. Once we turn these shells into restoration materials it has several other benefits. It creates habitat for invertebrates and other fish in the water along the shorelines, it reduces shoreline erosion and it creates what we call 'living shorelines'. This is something going on not only up and down the Florida coast, but up and down the eastern seaboard as well."
Employees like Dennis Parker, shucking away at the raw bar, are proud to know they're part of the bigger picture in the community.
"They love it. It's really a small world and if you don't take care of it one thing at a time it goes away," said Frank Perry, General Manager for the Golden Lion.
NOTE: The program is briefly on pause at the Golden Lion as the team looks for a more efficient way to store the shells between pickups.
