Lanoka Harbor Elementary Students Help ReClam the Bay [PHOTOS]

The Lanoka Harbor Elementary Gifted and Talented students got a lesson on growing oysters as part of a ReClam the Bay project.

“Our goal is to have them go into the other classes and educate their peers,” Teacher Darlene Price said. “Kids teaching kids. That’s our vision.”

Price’s third and fourth grade gifted and talented students will be growing 20 oysters in the classroom to help repopulate the bay, which is the mission of the grassroots organization ReClam the Bay.

Reclam the Bay received a grant and is using the funds to donate equipment to Price’s students. Price is a member of the volunteer organization, Price said.

The students will receive two tanks and the necessary equipment to participate in experiments and monitor the oysters, Price said.

The process of growing oysters can take up to two years. During that time, students will feed and monitor the oysters, measure growth and conduct experiments.

“This goes beyond the curriculum,” Price said. “There’s a lot of potential here for the kids to develop their own scientific plan and method.”

Price said she is hoping to experiment with different solidity in each tank.

“We’re an experimental project ourselves. We’re learning as we go,” Frank Vives of ReClam the Bay said.

Members of the organization visited the students to teach them about seashell mapping, the characteristics of water and shellfish, New Jersey watersheds, water quality and more.