Volunteer Sign Ups

Can you say YES to all these questions?

• I want to help grow Oysters for Brevard Zoo
• I have a dock on the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County OR live in an HOA community that has a community dock.
• I can commit 1-2 hours of time per week to maintaining oyster habitats.
• I am not planning to be out of town for extended periods of time (more than 2 weeks) during the gardening season (Fall 2025-Summer 2026).
• I can lift 30 lbs.

If you answered a resounding YES to all these questions and would like to train to be a part of the Oyster Gardening project, helping Brevard Zoo's Restore Our Shores program clean up the Indian River Lagoon, you're in the right spot!

• Oyster Gardening Training has ended for the 2024-2025 season, but if you are interested in participating next season you can sign up below to receive information about when you can register for the 2025-2026 season.
• We will reach out to you next summer as trainings are being scheduled so that you can officially become a gardener then.
• After attending a workshop in Fall 2025 where you will make Oyster habitats, we will contact you to come and collect your baby Oyster Spat (baby oysters) which you will place into the habitats and hang from your dock.  You will receive equipment to help you clean and care for your oysters over the 6-9months, and then return all the grown oysters during our Homecoming event.  This is when we will take them to an Oyster Reef to plant them in their forever home.
• If you are a gardener who has already attended training or skipped any recent seasons, you do not need to sign-up on this list or attend another training – just reach out to restoreourshores@brevardzoo.org to be added to spat distribution list.
• If you are currently raising oysters, we will email to ask if you would like to participate in the following season.

Don't have a dock on the IRL but still want to help out with Oyster Gardening? Sign-up and we'll train you to become an OYSTER BUDDY! They help assist our gardeners and the members of the ROS team with the Oyster Gardening project.

If you have any questions, please email Restore Our Shores, restoreourshores@brevardzoo.org.

We look forward to having you join our lagoon-loving community!

For more information about caring for your oysters check out the below videos…
Oyster Gardening Care 101 Video

Oyster Fouling Removal Video

Oyster Care Guide