Whats the Point in Putting Oyster Shell in Bags?

Swimming eyed larvae before being attached to shell

An oyster cage being lifted out of the water

Ever wondered how Christchurch does our oyster restoration? To start off I must first tell you why. Christchurch is involved in oyster restoration because it is sustainable. It easily meets the three Es of sustainability because of the following. For the environment the adults oysters filter the river at a rate of 50 gallons of water per day. Also for the environment the oyster reefs provide Habitat and because of this oysters are a keystone species. For equity oysters are available to everyone and oysters provide jobs. For the economics aspect money can be made selling the oysters for food. This greatly boosts the local economy. It is important for Christchurch to help restore the oysters because they’re population is only at 1-2 percent of the historic levels. The oyster is in trouble due to over harvesting, dredging, decline in water quality and disease. Christchurch does spat on shell restoration. This is done by first bagging shell, which I did along side other students during oyster festival. We put approximately 100 pieces of shell in each bag. This shell is that cleaned and placed in the large round tank that you have probably seen next to the sailing center. About 250 bags are put in the tank at a time. This tank is later filled with river water that is filtered to remove anything that might eat the baby oysters. The water in the tank is aerated to keep it moving so that the oysters attach evenly to the shells. The baby oysters or swimming eyed larvae are then poured into the tank. There are approximately three million larvae that are put in the tank. These are bought using that money made by the cans for oysters project. (For more information please visit the Recycling for Restoration post on this blog) The larvae are left in the tank for a few weeks till they become spat and attach to the shell. On average we get 10 spat on each piece of shell. These are then moved to the proposed reef location and dumped into the river. On average we put approximately 250,000 new oysters in the river per set. Once these become adults they will filter 12,500,000 gallons of water per day. This will be the fourth year that Christchurch has done oyster restoration. Christchurch also grows singles which are done by attaching the spat to crushed shell to guarantees that only one spat attaches to each piece of shell. These are grown in cages of the dock. Singles do not produce reefs but they can be easily sold for food, for which Christchurch now has a license. Because of this Christchurch can now sell oysters under the name Christchurch Seafood. Using this students can see for themselves and be part of the process that goes from the hatchery to selling oysters.

Written by Carter Little

What do you Know About B's

What do you know about B’s?

One in every three bites of food comes from bees. This is an amazing fact that not many people know. Bees are also found on every continent except Antarctica. The two states that are the biggest in the bee business are North and South Dakota. One new innovation in the bee business is where a beekeeper will load up his bees on flatbed trucks and drives them to farmer’s crops and let the bees pollinate the crops, which is called contract pollination. This really helps the farmer’s crops and they will pay around sixty dollars for a box of bees for one week and the beekeepers bring a tractor-trailer load of bee boxes. The bee business also involves harvesting of honey. Harvesting honey is important because honey is widely consumed and the wax from bees is also widely used. Bees are the only insects that produce food eaten by man. Honey is also important to bees they actually need it to survive. Honey is the primary source of food for bees during the winter and without it the hive would die. Honey is the only food that includes all substances necessary to sustain life. In a bee’s lifetime, which only lasts six months, it will produce one-twelfth a tablespoon of honey. Though on one trip of collecting pollen it will visit fifty to one hundred flowers. Bees beat their wings about two hundred thirty times per second. These rapid beats will wear out bee’s wings in six months, which is why the bees die. Another way a bee can die is if it uses it stinger. Bees are also fuzzy to carry an electric charge which helps collect pollen. Bee populations have been on the decline due to many things such as urbanization and pesticide use. Though on a field trip recently taken by Mr. Smiley’s Local Contemporary and Environmental Issues class it was nice to see that there still are Bee Keepers and that Bee keeping is steadily starting to rise. The class took a short walk to the house of Nancy, who works in the dinning hall of Christchurch, and her husband who has a hobby of being a beekeeper. He loves it and wishes everybody was a beekeeper he also was excited to show and tell people what he does. He explained how being a bee keeper can require little work but has great benefits to you and your neighbors such as your crops will flourish and you will have fresh honey. This saves money on honey from the store. Since the bees will help your garden tremendously you will grow more fruits and vegetables, which in return will also save you money in the grocery store. Unfortunately bee keeping has gotten more expensive then it used to be but the benefits out weigh the cost in the long run. Some of the benefits are yours and your neighbor’s crops flourishing causing you to save time and money at the grocery store. Also bee populations have been on the decline and keeping bees would bring up the population a little bit but a little bit is better than none. Bee keeping is an easy sustainable option for the future and can be done by most everybody. 

If you want to get started visit http://www.nnbeekeepers.com/ .

Written by: Brendan McCarthy

The Trail Report.

Many of us don't know about the trail here at CSS, so I'm here to tell you a little about it's history, and hopefully, it's future. During Mr. Cola's first year as a faculty member, he headed the Winter River Immersion, and due to weather conditions decided to make the trail as a substitute for their trips on the water. Instead, the Immersion members invested their winter into marking the paths for the trail. They started by finding the most interesting land features near the chosen area, and stretching string in between the marked spots. After showing Mr. Byers the rough trail, he gladly said it could be done, but was concerned that students would use it for the wrong reasons; such as smoking and "other things." After much talking between them, Mr. Cola convinced Mr. Byers that the trail wasn't anymore of a hiding place than the stand of trees had been, and the trail finally became reality. First of all, they put in stairs to help the hills from eroding the path away, and switchbacks to keep a section from being washed out. Lastly, they put in the outdoor classroom, which Mr. Cola said was a valuable resource for classes, and makes an interesting place to have a class. Now, Mr. Cola's dream is to see more students using the trail, and to see more teachers using it themselves, whether to walk their dogs or just for some peace. He also wishes to see the trail connected to the small beach at the end of the driving range.

Written by: Tristan