ORCA members, volunteers made living shoreline in lagoon off Vero Beach's Riverside Park

Crystal Vander Weit, Treasure Coast Newspapers

VERO BEACH − Ocean Research & Conservation Association members and volunteers helped construct a living shoreline in Riverside Park in the Indian River Lagoon near the gazebo on April 20, 2024.

They placed oyster reef ball modules, which are cement-based and ground up with oyster shells, to help stem shoreline erosion.

"This particular oyster reef ball module is a more sustainable means to grow back the shoreline," said Missy Weiss, director of citizen science and education for ORCA.

Volunteers from the community assist in the construction of a living shoreline for ORCA's Living Shoreline Program at Riverside Park near the Virginia Robinson Downey and Dixon P. Downey Gazebo on Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Vero Beach. ORCA partnered with the City of Vero Beach and received a grant from 11th Hour Racing. The project will also include a collaboration with the Florida Oceanographic Society to plant and monitor seagrass in between two of the breakwater structures.

The project also includes a collaboration with the Florida Oceanographic Society to plant and monitor seagrass in between two of the breakwater structures.

ORCA partnered with the City of Vero Beach and received a grant for the project from 11th Hour Racing, an environmental organization in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 2019, ORCA staff and volunteers constructed nine living shorelines in Indian River County. Two years of monitoring has shown oyster recruitment to breakwaters, seagrass density improvement, and flourishing native shoreline plants, according to ORCA.

The organization is recruiting volunteers to be trained citizen scientists to help with monitoring the impact of this year's project on the health of the lagoon. For more information about ORCA, visit www.TeamORCA.org.

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Volunteers from the community assist in the construction of a living shoreline for ORCA's Living Shoreline Program at Riverside Park near the Virginia Robinson Downey and Dixon P. Downey Gazebo on Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Vero Beach. ORCA partnered with the City of Vero Beach and received a grant from 11th Hour Racing. The project will also include a collaboration with the Florida Oceanographic Society to plant and monitor seagrass in between two of the breakwater structures.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Living shoreline constructed in Indian River Lagoon in Vero Beach

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