Beach towns and cities on the waterfront have and continue to be popular spots for tourism. More people continue to not only visit these beautiful places but can also end up moving to coastline cities. To add to the population growth, many older people also decide to retire near coastal places because of its natural beauty and serenity. More people living in these town means that more infrastructure must be built to accommodate them. Leaving less and less land on coastlines to fully enjoy.
In order to preserve these beautiful and natural areas, we need to focus more efforts on land conservation. Coastal conservation may not seem like the most pressing issue, but these ecosystems are vital for the environment. Without stable ecosystems, the natural land and ecosystems they are part of can collapse. Leaving less wildlife and areas of land that slowly degrade behind in its wake.
Not only does this have environmental consequences, but it also impacts the local economies of coastal cities. Without natural land, there isn’t much appeal for tourism. Growing up in a coastal city has made me much more aware of the economic effects. A multitude of small businesses rely on tourists for their income. The less natural land the area saves will lead to a decline in the people visiting. Giving way to yet another obstacle for small business owners to struggle getting past.
Luckily, there are still efforts made to maintain and preserve these natural ecosystems. At the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, they have multiple programs with goals of spreading awareness and action for a variety of conservation topics. Some of their projects involve oyster reef conservation, mangrove habitat restoration, and a sea turtle sanctuary among many others. These programs help restore and maintain the balance in the natural ecosystems surrounding the area. Ensuring a beautiful and majestic place for locals as well as visiting families to be surrounded by.
One of the many programs at the Brevard Zoo focuses on bridging the gap between businesses and the environment. The name of the program is called “Oysters—Oh, Shucks!” They take used shells from restaurants and repurpose them to create oyster mats, which coincides with the Restore Our Shores program. According to Katey Leban, the Conservation Oyster Coordinator in the Restore Our Shores program, these farms play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy balance in the Indian River Lagoon which is not far from the zoo. A key aspect of Katey’s job is to help volunteers create and maintain oyster farms in their own backyards! They can have anywhere from 150 to 300 oyster gardeners. So far, this program has been able to grow over 500,000 live oysters and reintroduce them into the natural ecosystems.
Another part of the Restore Our Shores program is to help grow and foster mangrove seedlings. The mangrove habitats created help minimize tidal damage and erosion to the shores. They also provide sanctuaries for the species living in the lagoon and act like a natural infrastructure for the ecosystem, so without them an ecosystem can fail. This part of the program foster mangrove seedlings and uses them to create thicker layers of mangroves to protect our shorelines and produce a healthier ecosystem.
Overall, these programs help play a vital role in keeping these natural ecosystems stable. Human disturbances like coastal development, wake from boats, and over-harvesting of resources threaten all of these communities. As humans, our inability to protect and sustainably use our natural resources and land will be one of our downfalls. Ecological collapses will affect the amount of resources we have access to. Without the help of programs like these, these ecosystems would not be able to sustain themselves at the same rate we use them.
These programs rely mainly on volunteers to finish these amazing accomplishments. Without the help of these locals, a lot of these accomplishments couldn’t be feasible. That’s where your support can help! Even if you are unable to participate in programs like these there are still little things you can do. Just simple things like picking up your trash or watching out for turtle nests during their egg laying season will help. On a larger scale, organizing small events like a trash pick-up or gathering a group of volunteers to participate in projects like the Restore Our Shore is helpful.
Even if you are not sure there are conservation programs like these in your city, it doesn’t hurt to look at your local zoo or wildlife sanctuary. Regardless if they do, organizing small events is always an important contribution. Alongside this, advocating for better coastal management in your local governments can be helpful too. As human populations still climb, it is inevitable that we will need to use more land. So making sure that we use minimum impactful infrastructure practices is vital. Even spreading information to your communities is important. More awareness leads to more people looking to create change. Every little effort helps the overall cause.
It should be our moral obligation to preserve our lands and the Earth not only for current generations, but for future generations as well. Creating and preserving lands that flourish and produce adequate amounts of resources should be one of our top priorities in society. Without these natural lands these communities won’t continue to thrive. Preserving these areas don’t only benefit us now but will allow society to maintain these areas for generations to come. So, we as communities must gather together and create change to preserve these beautiful coastal habitats.
