As part of the Essex Native Oyster Restoration Initiative’s (ENORI) work, Essex Wildlife Trust and Blue Marine Foundation have delivered an educational outreach programme to Brightlingsea Primary School.

The Essex Native Oyster Restoration Initiative (ENORI) was formed in 2013 as a collaboration of local oystermen, conservation organisations, government, scientists and other key organisations to help restore and protect native oyster populations.

Native oysters have declined by 95% and are threatened by overharvesting, pollution, habitat loss and competition with non-native species.

Essex Wildlife Trust has been part of ENORI, alongside Blue Marine Foundation and other key partners, for over a decade. Since its conception, ENORI have played a fundamental role in the creation of a Marine Conservation Zone in the Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Colne estuaries (the largest in Essex), and a 200-hectare Restoration Box, all designated to recover native oyster beds.

This year, an outreach programme with local primary school children has taken place at Brightlingsea Harbour, the site of a native oyster nursery. The Trust taught the Year 5 students about the importance of native oysters for wildlife, threats to their population, and their historical importance in the coastal community.

Students also helped to conduct in-person surveys of the native oyster population that the Trust continues to monitor, by identifying mortality rates of oysters and any additional species in their nursery cages. Sightings included shore crabs, common prawn, common blenny, sea spider and sea gooseberry.

Find out more about the ENORI project 

Charlotte Wells, Education and Community Officer at Essex Wildlife Trust, says:

“The Year 5 pupils were really excited to see and learn about the native oysters. The oyster nursery we have is just on their school’s doorstep, and they loved asking questions about their local wildlife. The students especially enjoyed learning about oysters’ filtering abilities – they can filter 200 litres of water every day! For me, it was seeing the pupils recognise that native oysters need to be looked after, and the children’s desire to do this, that was the highlight.”

Matt Uttley, Restoration Project Manager, Blue Marine Foundation, added:

“We have been undertaking active native oyster restoration in Essex through the Essex Native Oyster Restoration Initiative (ENORI) for many years now. The addition of our new native oyster nurseries in Brightlingsea supplements this restoration work, but the nurseries are also a fantastic outreach and engagement tool. They provide access to outdoor education and a hands-on learning experience in the marine environment, it is great to see the students exploring the previously hidden world of the native oyster.”

A spokesperson for Brightlingsea Primary School, says:

“The school were delighted to be invited to take part in the ENORI project. It offered the opportunity to enrich the curriculum for the pupils by participating in a local community-based scheme. The children were fascinated by the scientific elements of the day and thrilled to take part in the species recognition and data gathering process. They returned to school, a little muddy in some cases, but enthusiastic about everything they had learned. The walk back to their classrooms was accompanied by their excited conversations about what they had been doing.”