In November, the Back Porch in Destin donated 30 oysters to be used in both high school  and home school classrooms as part of CBA's Spat On! education program. With these oysters, students will directly examine oyster anatomy, learning more about how oysters fit into both the environment and the food chain.

Spat On! encompasses field experiences and in-class assignments. To introduce the students to oyster restoration, students help construct an oyster reef by bagging recycled oyster shell and placing the material. They monitor growing oysters using various aquaculture techniques, including GoPro Cameras and iPad minis, to analyze spat attachment and water regulation. Towards the end of the year, students move their matured oysters from the cultivation areas to a reef during a Move Your Mollusk event.

"Oysters are a keystone species in the Choctawhatchee Bay," Amanda Briant, Education Coordinator for CBA, explains, "We believe that allowing students to actually hold and study these amazing critters will increase their appreciation this unique bivalve."

Thank you Back Porch!