Left: Chris Busser, left, and Corbin Bassingwaite plant marsh grass at Clam Bayou. Right: Kyle Carey helped organize the planting of 3,500 units of marsh grasses.
Eagle Scout candidate Kyle Carey of Boy Scout Troop 45 and 30 volunteers spent about 5½ hours planting 3,500 units of marsh grasses at the District’s Clam Bayou Ecosystem Restoration and Stormwater Treatment Project in St. Petersburg. Carey spearheaded the volunteer project as part of his efforts to attain the rank of Eagle Scout. The marsh grasses will not only provide valuable habitats for Tampa Bay but will also help reduce erosion of four islands and tidal channels. Carey and his volunteers harvested the grasses from the marsh grow-out pond at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Stock Enhancement Research Facility in Port Manatee. The seven-phase Clam Bayou restoration project began in April 2010, and the final phase is nearing completion. Once it’s finished, the project will restore Clam Bayou’s ecosystems and treat stormwater runoff among seven sites and 44 acres. The ecosystem restoration portion of the project will restore 24 acres of various estuarine and coastal habitats in the 170-acre estuary.