Who We Are
The South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) Program is a community-based oyster recycling, habitat restoration and monitoring program that works with volunteers along South Carolina’s coast to restore oyster reefs. Through dedicated boots on the ground volunteerism and grant funded loose shell planting, SCORE’s Community-Based Restoration Team has restored 24 acres (56,699 feet) of oyster habitat across 216 coastal sites with the help of over 60,000 volunteers since 2000.
What We Do
If you don’t mind getting dirty or muddy, and carrying heavy objects over uneven ground, then the SCORE Community-Based Restoration volunteer activities are for you! These activities range from land-based programs, such as removing trash from large oyster piles, bagging oyster shells, and building manufactured wire reef cages, to working in the saltmarsh by constructing oyster reefs and planting marsh grass.
View the volunteer opportunities below for more information. Please note, most of these activities can be done by teams. If you are a team leader, please respond to the specific opportunity by clicking "respond as team" or the generic "NEW Team Volunteer Sign Up" opportunity.
Land-Based Activities:
Seed Planting: Volunteers will help plant spartina marsh seedlings into small pots where they will be stored in greenhouses to grow.
Trash Sorting: Volunteers will help pick undesirable trash out of a large shell pile. Most of the shell is coming from restaurants and oyster roasts, and there is often a fair amount of trash among the shell. This is an opportunity to clean it up before the shell gets put back into the saltmarsh.
Oyster Shell Bagging: Volunteers will help shovel loose oyster shells into plastic tubes to make mesh bags. The mesh bags are then stacked onto pallets. Shoveling and carrying shells can be fairly physical, but this can be rotated with other volunteers who are cutting the bags.
Manufactured Wire Reef (MWR) Cages: Volunteers will help to cut, bend, and fasten galvanized wire to form a reef structure using power tools. Recycled oyster shells are then shoveled into buckets and inserted into shaped wire. These reefs will be later used to recruit oyster larvae to land and grow on. Shoveling and carrying shell can be fairly physical, but this can be rotated with other volunteers.
On-the-Water Activities:
Oyster Reef Builds or MWR Deployments: Volunteers will help deploy oyster shell bags or MWRs along the shoreline of the saltmarsh. Volunteers will be required to walk on walking boards in the pluff mud. Depending on the site, volunteers may have to ride SCDNR boats to access site. All volunteers will need to be comfortable lifting heavy objects (20-40lbs), getting wet, muddy, and working in hot and buggy conditions.
Marsh Grass Plantings: Volunteers will help plant baby spartina marsh grass in the salt marsh. Volunteers will be required to walk on walking boards in the pluff mud. Volunteers need to be comfortable getting wet, muddy, and working in hot and buggy conditions.
Volunteer requirements include:
-Must be at least 10 years old to participate (some activities may have age restrictions for children)
-Comfortable lifting heavy objects (20-40lbs) (this can vary depending on volunteer activity)
-Comfortable with strenuous tasks in summer conditions
-Comfortable getting wet, muddy, and walking on uneven grounds
-Must wear closed-toe shoes when volunteering (NO CROCS, NO WATERSHOES OR EXPOSED SKIN ON FEET; boots or old sneakers work well!)
Next Steps:
-Scroll down to "Program Opportunities" and click "View Details" on specific volunteer activity you're interested in doing.
