Students Build Artificial Reef Balls

"Before we can put this stuff on the bottom, we have to go out there and document that in fact it's a bare sand bottom. There's a few fish but not many," said Dana Morton, the city's Aquatic Biologist.

The reef balls are part of a class project at Mandarin High School. The Marine Science classes built the reef balls themselves using special concrete and other materials. "It's going to create a whole other ecosystem in an otherwise barren landscape in the ocean," said Science Teacher Jennifer Oglesby.

Students have been working on the project for eight years and this is the first time there's been an actual deployment in the ocean. Oglesby adds, "The kids, once they get out here and they're putting their hands on this and they start asking me questions, and this is a learning opportunity for these kids."

It's a project that helps students feel more connected to the ocean and to other classes years before them who have all helped create a better home for marine life. "There's not many kids that can say I'm actually building a fish house to improve the offshore of Jacksonville. It's not like it's a bad habitat, it's just not as productive as it could be," said Morton.

It's an education project for students and a better habitat for marine life.

Mandarin High School fabricated a total of 34 reef balls that went into the ocean. The artificial reef is located directly offshore from Mickler's Landing.