On April 4th, Salem Sound Coastwatch’s School to Sea program joined students from across the North Shore at the Peabody Essex Museum for the North Shore Youth Climate Leadership Summit, an annual event organized and led entirely by youth through Mass Audubon’s Youth Climate Leadership Program (YCLP). The North Shore chapter launched in 2022 as a partnership between Mass Audubon and PEM, and students meet regularly at the museum to plan climate action, host summits, and connect with community organizations doing environmental work in the region.
Nicole Frymier and Alex Borreil from the School to Sea team ran two sessions throughout the day, each with 12 to 15 students. The sessions opened with an introduction to the history of shellfish in Salem Sound, grounding students in why these animals matter and what they can tell us about the health of our local watershed. Students then rotated through two hands-on stations: a live oyster filtration demonstration and an oyster anatomy exploration. The room was engaged throughout, with students asking questions and drawing connections between the science and the broader climate challenges the summit was designed to address.
Oysters and other filter feeders play a critical role in coastal ecosystems. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, removing excess nutrients, sediment, and algae that would otherwise degrade water quality. Understanding that role in a hands-on, tangible way is at the heart of what School to Sea works to create for students across the Salem Sound Watershed.
The summit was one stop in a broader arc of oyster filtration programming School to Sea is bringing to Salem students this spring. The same live oyster lab will be running with 7th graders at Collins Middle School and with physical oceanography students at Salem High School, creating repeated opportunities for local students to observe the science firsthand and connect it to the waters right outside their door.
We are grateful to the North Shore YCLP leadership team for the invitation and look forward to next year’s summit!