FSPA News: Over the past two years,the Friends community has joined a statewide program to restore Chesapeake Bay ecology by creating artificial habitats, or reef balls, for oysters and other aquatic life.Student and parent volunteers have built and planted the habitats at the six-acre Department of Natural Resources ’ oyster reef sanctuary in the north end of the Bay.
Reef balls are hollow,rounded structures of varying sizes formed of a special, marine-friendly concrete.The balls are pocked with openings and canals that make them an ideal living environment for a variety of marine species.Over the past 12 years, over 500,000 reef balls have been deployed in over 3,000 projects worldwide. Brian Martin ’09 first learned about reef balls three summers ago during an outing with his grandfather. The following spring, he and his family presented the idea to Middle School administrators as a possible service project.“We introduced Friends to Bill Hubbard, who came to
campus to work with the students,” says Brian ’s mom Kathy.“Bill is ‘Mr. Maryland Reef Ball.’ Anyone old enough to hold a hoe and mix and pour cement can learn all about Bay restoration from him —and how building reef balls is just one piece of this effort.”
To keep the tradition of environmental stewardship growing, Friends School has committed to continuing its reef ball program by purchasing its own reef ball mold. Families will have an opportunity to build four reef balls when the Parent Service Committee sponsors a reef ball-making
event on April 7,2007. Look for details in the mail in the coming weeks. Don ’t miss this fun and educational hands on project!
To learn more about reef balls go to www.reefball.org.
