At low tide Friday morning along the muddy shoreline of Lead Mills, about 20 Tower School fourth-grade students watched intently as George Thatos explained how a stack of specially designed plates could help restore an entire marine ecosystem.
Moments later, the lesson shifted from classroom theory to hands-on science.
With his boots sinking deep into the muck of Salem Harbor, Thatos waded toward the water carrying one of his oyster reef restoration devices. A cluster of students trailed behind eagerly — a few venturing a little too far into the mud and earning thoroughly soaked, muddy shoes in the process. None seemed bothered.
“Interactive projects like this are a lot of fun,” said 10-year-old Jack Gordon. “We’re learning a lot about oysters and how important they are for the marine ecosystem. They keep the ocean clean.”
Nine-year-old Lucy Wedel added that oysters are a “keystone species” and “help prevent erosion and flooding.”
The installation marked the launch of an ambitious oyster reef restoration pilot study in Marblehead waters, bringing together scientists, environmental groups, government agencies and local students in an effort to improve water quality and rebuild marine habitat.
The timing was intentional. The project kicked off as part of Marblehead’s World Oceans Day celebrations, giving students a rare chance to watch their classroom studies take physical shape in the harbor.
“This work exemplifies how students’ creativity and self-efficacy can inspire agency, leading to the meaningful change we hope every student experiences through science,” said Tower School science teacher Colleen Parenteau.
Parenteau’s fourth-grade class spent months studying oysters and their role as a keystone species in coastal ecosystems. Oysters naturally filter water, create habitat for fish and other marine life and help protect shorelines from erosion.
Earlier this year, Thatos, head of design for Coastal Technologies Corp, visited the classroom to introduce students to his company’s oyster stack design — a reusable structure intended to support reef restoration and coastal resilience.
Inspired, students designed their own versions of oyster restoration structures, experimenting with surface texture and predator protection. They later presented their ideas to Thatos and Steven Wolf, chair of the Sustainable Marblehead Harbors and Waters Working Group.
The classroom project ultimately sparked something larger.
At the students’ suggestion, Parenteau connected Thatos and Wolf, a Marblehead resident, marine scientist and environmental engineer who works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The introduction helped lay the groundwork for Friday’s installation.
Standing nearby as Thatos deployed the oyster stacks, Wolf helped install shellfish cages that will house oysters, mussels and shells as part of the restoration effort.
The pilot study is a collaboration among Salem Sound Coastwatch, Sustainable Marblehead, the EPA, Coastal Technologies, the Massachusetts Oyster Project, the town of Marblehead and Tower School.
Researchers hope to determine whether oysters, mussels and other shellfish can be successfully cultivated in Marblehead and Salem harbors as a long-term strategy to improve water quality, create marine habitat and reduce shoreline erosion.
The project includes deployment of Coastal Technologies’ oyster stacks at multiple harbor sites, shellfish cages supplied by Ketchum Supply and environmental monitoring equipment that will track water quality and spawning conditions.
Wolf said the effort could eventually expand. The town is exploring the transfer of up to 60,000 oysters currently being raised in Marblehead’s new oyster upweller — a nursery at Tucker’s Wharf.
The reefs being established this summer may take years to fully develop, but the students who helped launch the project won’t have to wait that long to see results.
Using monitoring equipment installed alongside the reef structures, Tower School students will continue collecting and analyzing environmental data, tracking how shellfish populations respond over time and watching as a classroom lesson becomes a living ecosystem.
