This month, 10 of our high school interns had the opportunity to participate in an important conservation project in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Fresh off the heals of their spring internship and specially-selected to continue on in our summer internship program, these interns had been learning about South Carolina wildlife and biology for the past 4 months. Needless to say, they were eager to put what they learned into action!

To ring in the start of their summer internship, we took our hardworking interns into the field where they bagged oysters for a restoration project that will take place in the Wappoo Cut. Along with some help from a partnering group, they made 606 bags of oysters that will be put in place at the end of July. Each bag will be a habitat for roughly 400 adult oysters. That is 240,000 oysters total, which can filter 600,000 gallons of water in one hour, or 7.2 gallons in a day. After an hour and a half of grueling work, hearing these numbers prompted a cheer and high-fives all around!

These ten interns shared a memorable experience that will ultimately help conserve one of South Carolina’s most precious habitats: the salt marsh. They conducted real work in the conservation field, they bonded and they smelled completely awful, all while learning a valuable lesson in conservation that will stay with them forever. It was a day to remember!