OLDMAR, Fla. — If it's summer at Old Tampa Bay in Oldsmar, there is a good chance you’ll find city employees out in kayaks off RE Olds Park. It’s part of their biannual checkup of their Vertical Oyster Garden program.
“Historically, Old Tampa Bay has had some water quality issues,” said Ashlee Painter, environmental management supervisor. “So we started this program in 2021. It’s the Vertical Oyster Gardens. It’s part of our Save Our Bay program.”
According to Painter, an adult oyster filters about 50 gallons of water per day, which is helping improve the bay's water quality.
“We have about 40 here on our pier at RE Olds Park that are city-owned that we maintain, and then we probably have five to ten residents that have it on private docks,” said Painter.
First, the city hangs old oyster shells donated by local restaurants off of the pier into the water.
“They provide a surface for oysters to recruit on so we can grow oyster reefs,” said Painter. “The first year, we had maybe two or three on each one; the second year, we had maybe 10 or 15, and the third year, we’re seeing hundreds, so we are seeing they are working and they are growing.”
“So we come out here this time of year because of breeding season. We want to make sure the reefs are up and ready for the oysters,” said Bryanna Fleshman with the city.
“This program is also a citizen science, so it allows the community to get involved,” said Painter. “So if you have a dock and you live in the City of Oldsmar, you can request, and we’ll provide these vertical oyster gardens to you to hang on your dock, and we’ll actually come out and hang them for you.”
Painter said she is proud to show off all the environmental work the city is doing.
“I’m glad ABC Action News is doing this story because I think it highlights the positive things and changes that we are doing within the city, actively working to preserve our bay, our water, our nature, for not only our current residents but for the future.”
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