National Technical Honor Society students from the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center joined volunteers from the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association on Sunday to construct a new oyster reef habitat.

The students, under the direction of advisors John Spinicchia and Tina Mattingly, completed some community service while constructing a four-foot high column within the St. Mary’s River oyster sanctuary, where a large-scale, three-dimensional oyster reef project is taking shape.

About 14 tons of concrete rubble, once a homeowner’s patio, was hauled to the waterfront at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and loaded onto a barge for placement. Marylanders Grow Oysters cages were also retrieved from homes off the St. Mary’s River to supply 10-month-old spat on shell, or baby oysters, to be placed atop this new column.

Spinicchia, a Natural Resources Management instructor at the tech center and a board member of the Watershed Association, said, “When the possibility of doing this project came about, they immediately jumped on it.”

Participants included not just those studying natural resource management, but engineering technology, academy of healthcare and video production students as well, and, as Spinicchia explained, “They’re all interested in and enthusiastic about protecting their natural environment.”

During brief breaks from the heavy lifting and boat rides to collect oyster cages, the Association’s program director Allison Rugila introduced the students to some of the many species that also call oyster reefs their home and explained the scientific rationale for recreating the three-dimensional structures that were once abundant in these waters.

“The restoration of oysters contributes to improved water clarity and water quality since oysters remove suspended materials out of the water during feeding. Their filtering ability is simply astounding,” said Rugila.

Not afraid of a little hard work, the student volunteers took turns loading and hauling concrete, riding out with volunteer boat captains John Fulchiron and Charlie Sirico and making the trek out to the designated spot in the river to build up the column and plant the spat.

Co-president of the Society Avery Echols called the work, “a very cool, but labor intensive project.”

“These are just great kids,” said Mattingly, “It’s a great thing f