Oyster Month
October Means Oysters on Bald Head Island!
Are you ready to “shellebrate” Oyster Month with the Bald Head Island Conservancy?!
In North Carolina, Oyster Month is every October and is organized by North Carolina Sea Grant, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in partnership with the NC Oyster Trail.
The NC Oyster Trail is a grassroots effort by people who love our state’s oysters. Their mission is to provide experiences that help sustain and grow NC oysters, resulting in economic, environmental, and social benefits to the state’s seafood industry and coastal communities. The Bald Head Island Conservancy is part of the NC Oyster Trail, and we would love for you to get involved with our oyster-y events!
Learn
Educational activities, digital microscopes, and oyster specimens are on display for the entire month in the Fleming Environmental Education Building! Come make your own oyster craft to take home!
Shop for a Cause
You can help support the Conservancy by purchasing oyster-related merchandise at Turtle Central. Come check out our new designs this fall!
Living Shoreline at Marina Park
Earlier this year, the Bald Head Island Conservancy partnered with Sandbar Oyster Company, the Village of BHI, the NC Coastal Federation, the Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability, and more than a dozen volunteers to complete a new living shoreline at Marina Park.
This project uses Sandbar Oyster Company’s Oyster Catcher™ biodegradable hardscape to build oyster reefs and salt marsh habitat, which together form “living shorelines.” Unlike bulkheads or seawalls, living shorelines provide natural erosion control while also creating vital fish habitat.
The new shoreline is designed to:
· Reduce wave energy and buffer against erosion
· Work with tides and currents to re-accumulate sediment
· Reestablish native marsh grasses
· Promote oyster reef growth thanks to the Oyster Catcher substrate’s surface area and composition
The reef has already begun to grow, and over the coming years, it will continue to strengthen Bald Head Island’s coastal resilience while supporting wildlife and water quality.
If you’d like to learn more about living shorelines on BHI, contact us at conservation@bhic.org.
