What do oysters and a positive and cohesive work culture have in common? More than two dozen Health First associate “Culture Champions” found out this week during a collaborative event with Florida Institute of Technology, as they constructed “oyster mats” to help clean and detoxify Brevard’s precious natural resources – particularly the Indian River lagoon – as part of the Living Docks Initiative.

That initiative enables non-scientists and community members to create inexpensive but effective habitats that encourage oysters and other organisms such as sponges, sea squirts, and barnacles to collect near man-made structures. It’s led by Robert Weaver, Ph.D., Director of the Indian River Lagoon Research Institute and Associate Professor of Ocean Engineering in Florida Tech’s Department of Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences. 

Healthy adult oysters serve as an invaluable natural filtration system, cleaning up to 50 gallons of water per day. In fact, one dock with 37 pilings with an average of 32 oysters per piling can potentially filter up to 21 million gallons of water per year – or the equivalent to over 420,000 bathtubs.

According to Kate Sims, Vice President of Experience and Culture at Health First, the idea to involve employees in a Living Docks opportunity was formulated a few years ago.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our Culture Champions, who are already part of a community-based mission at Health First, to come together in a completely different environment to celebrate and recognize the impact they have every day, but also to learn about how their passions, efforts, teamwork and collaboration can affect an entirely different ‘ecosystem’ other than their day to day workplace – in this case, our own natural resources that we as Brevardians have a duty to preserve and protect.”

READ the coverage of the day's activities and scroll through the photo gallery at Florida Today HERE.