National Estuary Program-NOAA Community Based Restoration Partnership
I. Applicant Information
1. Organization: UNC Coastal Studies Institute Foundation
2. Address of Organization: PO Box 1468, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
3. Organization Web Page Address:
http://csi.northcarolina.edu/content/contact/foundation.htm
II. Project Contact
1. Project Manager and Title: John McCord
2. Address of Contact 217 Budleigh Street, PO Box 699, Manteo, NC 27954
3. Phone number: 252-475-3663
4. Fax number: 252-475-3545
5. Email address: jmccord@csi.northcarolina.edu
6. Contact web page address: http://csi.northcarolina.edu
7. Congressional District: 1
III. Project Information
1. Project name: What's the big deal about oyster reefs: Community based restoration as
a K-12 education platform
2. Project start date: 1 June 2010
3. Project end date: 31 May 2011
4. Project location (City, County, State): Buxton, Dare, North Carolina
5. Land Ownership: Public
6. Type(s) of habitat: Oyster reef
7. NOAA Trust Resource(s) to benefit from restoration: Coastal Habitats including
marshes, seagrass beds, oyster reefs
8. Partners involved: North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, North Carolina Oyster
Shell Recycling Program, Cape Hatteras Secondary School
9. Federal, state or local permits required (Note: Documentation that all required permits
are obtained must be provided prior to expenditure of funds under this partnership): CAMA
approval for the placement of oyster reefs
IV. Project Abstract
1. Project objectives (100 words maximum) – specify only those objectives to be
accomplished with this funding:
1) High school students will restore intertidal and shallow sub-tidal oyster reefs along
300 feet of shoreline
2) Supervised by coastal scientists, high school students will monitor indicators to assess
the increase in delivery of ecosystem services.
3) Education specialists will develop and integrate NC standards based activities into
existing middle and high school science curriculum.
4) Education specialists will supervise high school students in developing and delivering
lesson plans for elementary science students entitled “What's the big deal about oyster
reefs?”.
2. Description of project to be completed with this funding (250 words maximum)
This project will create 300 feet of shallow sub-tidal oyster reef habitat in Buxton, NC. The
oyster reef will be constructed of bagged oyster shells obtained from the NC Oyster Shell
Recycling Program. The bagged oyster shell will provide the substrate necessary for the
settling of oyster larvae that are present in area waters. The constructed reef will provide
habitat for a wide variety of marine life, reduce wave energy and protect fragile shoreline
marshes as well as providing prime habitat shoreward of the reef for the growth of
submerged aquatic vegetation.
In addition to creating habitat, the project will engage the students and teachers of Cape
Hatteras Secondary School in a hands-on, project based program involving classroom
curriculum instruction, the development and delivery of “What’s the big deal about oyster
reefs?” lesson plans to elementary students and the construction and monitoring of the
oyster reef. During classroom sessions, students will learn about the importance of oysters
and oyster reefs, the role they play in estuarine ecosystems, the fisheries issues
surrounding oysters and the current efforts that have been undertaken to restore oyster
populations in North Carolina. The students of Cape Hatteras Secondary School will play a
critical role in the monitoring of the oyster reefs. Under the supervision of coastal
scientists, students will collect data on the recruitment and growth of the oyster reef as well
as its impact on the surrounding habitat and marine life life found in the area.
3. If the project is part of a larger regional and/or local effort, briefly describe this effort: NA
4. Describe the specific on-the-ground activities to be undertaken to achieve project
objectives:
The project will involved several on-the-ground components to complete the project
objectives:
A. The coordination of the construction of the oyster reef. This includes volunteer
coordination, procurement and delivery of recycled oyster shell, bagging and deployment of
oyster shell on site.
B. The creation and implementation of classroom curriculum and lesson plans from
elementary, middle and high school students.
C. Data collection and monitoring of oyster reef recruitment and growth through high
school and local volunteers under scientist supervision.
5. Describe project partners and their contribution:
UNC Coastal Studies Institute: Overall coordination of the project, classroom curriculum
development and instruction, technical supervision of reef creation, data collection and
monitoring
NC Division of Marine Fisheries Oyster Shell recycling Program: Delivery and assistance in
deployment of recycled oyster shell
Cape Hatteras Secondary School: Classroom curriculum and instruction, Bagging,
deployment and construction of oyster reef, ongoing monitoring and data collection of the
reef and surrounding area
6. Describe the community involvement through an educational and/or volunteer
component: The students, teachers and local community will be involved in the creation of
the reef by bagging oyster shell material and assisting with the construction of the oyster
reef on site. In addition, students and community members will assist in the monitoring
and data collection of the impacts, recruitment and growth of the installed oyster reef.
High school students from Cape Hatteras Secondary School will develop lesson plans on the
importance of oyster reefs to be implemented at elementary schools in Dare County, NC.
under the supervision of Education Specialists from the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, Cape
Hatteras Secondary School high school students will deliver pilot lesson plans to Cape
Hatteras Elementary School students.
V. Budget
1. Amount of NEP/CRP Partnership funds requested. $20,000 is being requested to cover
staff time and travel costs as well as supplies for the project
2. Matching Contributions – . $20,000 dollars is is matched to the grant through staff time
and volunteer support.
3. Budgeted line item expenditures:
Personnel
Staff
Volunteers
Fringe benefits
Travel
Equipment
Supplies
Contractual
Constructions
Other (Vehicle use)
Total Direct Charges
Total Indirect Charges**
Total Budget
Partnership request
Amount and Source of
Funding Match*
$5000
$8,000- UNC-CSI Staff Time
$12,000- School and
Community volunteers
$5000
$10000
$20000
$20000
* Indicate whether funding is confirmed or pending
** Indirect charges are limited to 15% of the NEP/CRP Partnership grant award.
VI. Supplemental Information
1. Diagram or photo of project site:
2. The site is located behind Cape Hatteras Secondary School located in Buxton, NC. The
UNC Coastal Studies Institute currently has a research sanctuary (indicated by the 4 push
pins) located behind the school. The constructed oyster reef would be located within the
current research sanctuary.
2. A letter of support from Dean Carpenter, Program Scientist for the Albemarle Pamlico
National Estuarine Program is attached.