For the past three years we at Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU), has partnered with municipalities, environmental agencies and 30 homeowners along the Mosquito Lagoon, Florida to restore some of the turf grass-dominated shoreline, restoring instead a natural, living shoreline of plants to buffer nonpoint pollutants that contribute to “Harmful Algal Blooms.” Dr. Adeljean Ho joined our research team in 2017 as a postdoc and has been working as a program manager of this project. Currently Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at B-CU, Ho shares the lessons learned from this project which engages waterfront property owners by conducting research at their waterfront backyards.
The B-CU team conducts quarterly water quality measures and measures of plant growth at the study locations. Once a year, a simulated rain event (SRE) is conducted to mimic rainfall to determine the efficiency of living shoreline versus turf grass in reducing pollutants.
The research project involves 30 waterfront property owners including some city-owned properties and parks in New Smyrna, Edgewater and Oak Hill. Other partners include the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), FDEP Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserves, and Marine Discovery Center.
“This project was funded in part by a Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program Implementation grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through an agreement/contract with the Nonpoint Source Management Section of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.”
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