Not far from the transmission towers over McKay Bay that bring reliable power from H.L. Culbreath Bayside Power Station to Tampa Electric customers, company team members from Bayside, Resource Planning and other volunteers brought power of another kind – environmental stewardship – to an effort beneath the gently lapping waves on April 15.
Alongside the volunteers from TECO at DeSoto Park were others from Tampa Bay Watch. With the determined scrape of shovels, they pared down a massive pile of shells, transferring them to mesh bags. Two boats with volunteers made repeated trips out across the water to unload the shells along a growing reef.
“It was a great effort all around – it was amazing to see what a dedicated group of people, working together, can do to help the environment within a relatively short period of time,” said Qui Phan, senior environmental technician at Bayside and the organizer of his team members’ effort. “The overcast weather didn’t put a damper on our spirits. As a matter of fact, it allowed the team to work hard and not slow down –best of all, we left knowing Tampa Bay is a little heathier now than it was before we got here.”
The work complemented a similar effort by TECO team members and Tampa Bay Watch in December. Phan, meanwhile, is no stranger to working for the good of the environment.
As the reef grows and attracts more oysters, which will make it their home, it will benefit the habitat in multiple ways. Not only can each mature oyster filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, but the reef will act as a barrier to reduce coastline erosion. It will also attract more varieties of aquatic plant and animal life.
“We’re proud of the great relationship with Tampa Bay Watch – we share similar goals in that we all live in this area and we know it’s up to a lot of people working together to help it retain its natural beauty,” Phan said. “I’m proud to work for a company in TECO that believes that too.”
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