FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Three Flagler County parks will soon receive free vertical oyster gardens designed to help improve water quality and create habitat for marine life.
The county said the “Oysters for My Neighborhood” team has agreed to install the gardens at boat docks at Moody Boat Launch in Flagler Beach, Bings Landing in unincorporated Flagler County and Herschel King Park in Palm Coast.
Vertical oyster gardens are artificial habitats made by stringing recycled oyster shells onto heavy-duty wire or rope. They are hung from docks or seawalls, where they can attract juvenile oysters and other marine life.
County officials said the gardens act like small localized reefs and can help clean the water while creating habitat for small crabs, shrimp and other creatures.
“This is a really great project,” Interim County Administrator Adam Mengel said in a news release. “These gardens both clean the water and create habitat for other creatures — small crabs and shrimp.”
Chuck Gleichmann, who started a local vertical oyster garden initiative on the Intracoastal Waterway, said the exact number of gardens will be determined after the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida surveys the docks.
The goal is to install the gardens around mid-June.
“A full-grown oyster can filter 50 gallons of water per day,” Gleichmann said. “A string of oyster shells creates a home for new oysters and also creates habitat for others.”
County officials said oysters that attach to the vertical gardens can naturally filter between 2 and 5 gallons of water per hour.
“This is a big win for our conservation efforts and our community,” Mengel said.
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