(Tampa, FL) April 21, 2022 – Ahead of Kenny Chesney’s Here And Now 2022 tour, kicking off at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Saturday April 23, his grass roots project, No Shoes Reefs (NSR) is celebrating his return to the road and Earth Day alongside Tampa Bay Watch. Culminating with Tampa Bay Watch’s Living Shoreline Project, this ongoing event taking place on Earth Day (April 22) involves deploying reef balls to help grow oysters, prevent further erosion, and rebuild lost shoreline.
“Talk about a way to merge my worlds,” Chesney says. “We have been doing various projects around the country but when Tampa Bay Watch had a week of actual activities designed to not just walk people through the process, but teach them how to not only make reef balls and then have people be able to deploy the Reef Balls on Earth Day, it was the best kind of synergy possible.”
The earth week activities are part of a cumulative activation of Tampa Bay Watch’s three decades of education, restoration, conservation and community building efforts. The project involve s placing oyster reef balls (ORBs) on the eroding sediment of Lassing Park in St. Petersburg, Florida, to protect the shoreline from wave energy and allow the saltmarsh grass to grow. The ORBs presence protect the shore from further erosion and allows eventual oyster and coral growth that rebuilds the shoreline which has been lost since the ‘50s. On the edge of the shoreline, bay grasses are planted to help complete the layered ecosystem and further filter nutrients from the water.
To mark the occasion, a special edition NSR + TBW t-shirt, featuring a living shoreline similar to the one being created in Lassing Park on Earth Day will be available for purchase. The shirt is made from repurposed plastic bottles and 20% of proceeds will benefit Tampa Bay Watch.
Chesney offers, “When you can work with local groups, they understand their needs, their issues – and by supporting them, we can help them take care of their oceanfront in ways that make sense. But being able to be part of something so all-encompassing in Tampa as we’re starting to get back to bringing No Shoes Nation together is the perfect thing to kick off a tour.”
With the help of dedicated volunteers, the reef balls were built on April 19, while saltmarsh was harvested from a local donor site in preparation for planting on April 20, and April 21 is the staging day to bring the Living Shoreline components together, with deployment taking place with the help of community volunteers, No Shoes Reefs ambassadors and longtime members of No Shoes Nation (NSN) on April 22.
No Shoes Reefs has been integral in various projects in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland and Connecticut, expanding its reach to support other organizations sharing its vision and efforts.About Tampa Bay Watch:Tampa Bay Watch is an environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a healthy Tampa Bay watershed through community-driven restoration projects, education programs, and outreach initiatives. Founded in 1993, the organization empowers thousands of community volunteers throughout the year to plant native grasses, construct oyster reefs, and remove fishing line and marine debris from coastlines in order to help the bay recover from its environmental threats. The organization also focuses on environmental education striving to create guardians of the Tampa Bay estuary from a young age by providing field experiences that combine classroom resources with hands-on field marine science and environmental exploration.
About No Shoes Reefs:Originally established in 2015, Chesney teamed with the Building Conservation Trust to create artificial reefs in places where degradation undermined healthy reefs, which provide living habitat for many kinds of sea life. Working at a grass roots level with the Coastal Conservation Association, 18 months after submerging their first two structures, Chesney and CCA President Pat Murray heard the fish finders and depth sensors go crazy as they floated over the locations on the St. John River. Since then, No Shoes Reefs has worked with organizations in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, and of course East Tennessee where Kenny is from to raise Awareness and Support for, education and activations in both Freshwater and Saltwater Habitat.