Flagler students sow sea oats on Beverly Beach

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Matanzas High School students were joined by Brian Tuttle’s biology students at Pathways to plant sea oats Monday, April 30, on Beverly Beach.

The sea oats were produced in a lab using tissue cultures at the University of Florida, and then grown in Wendy Vidor’s horticulture class at Matanzas, as part of a joint grant project with the university.

Out of 1,000 sea oats from five genotypes planted in the Matanzas greenhouse in November, 750 were viable enough to be transplanted to Beverly Beach.

“I think we are really going to see the difference within the genotypes,” Vidor said. “Now the test is how they’re going to survive on the beach.”

The class will continue to monitor the plants’ progress over the next year.

“(Sea oats are) a big thing with the hurricanes and erosion control, and to do something locally is really cool for the students,” Vidor said. “It’s good for them to see how science works — that there really is an end to it.”

For Tuttle’s students, the partnership is a team building activity and a self-confidence booster. They have been involved in service learning in Beverly Beach before, but this is the first time the class has teamed with another Flagler County school.