The Communities Helping Restore Oyster Reefs program received the most online votes from kids participating in Disney’s Friends for Change online campaign. The program distributes $1 million in grants to environmental causes over the course of a year. To save reefs at the Mosquito Lagoon in Florida, the Nature Conservancy Florida will work with volunteers to make “oyster restoration mats” created by attaching oyster shells to aquaculture grade plastic mesh. The mats are weighted down underwater, where they help restore depleted reefs by providing a stable foundation for new oysters to settle on.
