Photo Courtesy of The Eagle Reef

On the morning of June 11, 2024 the City of Mobile recognized 2024 St. Paul’s Episcopal School graduate, John Shell for his efforts to revitalize and clean Gulf Coast water. 

John Shell, the salutatorian of his class, started Eagle Reef in 2022 for his Eagle Scout project with a goal to “deploy 100 mini reefs across coastal Alabama to help clean our water and improve the fish and crab population along our coastlines.” 

The reefs are made from a lightweight material designed to float under docks. They are filled with filter feeders, such as barnacles and oysters, to clean 1.1 million gallons of water annually. Each reef is capable of acting as a nursery to grow over 500 fish and crabs annually. 

Shell’s idea began when he remembered a time going fishing with his father when they caught nothing. He said “I loved the feeling of catching a fish but I wanted these other kids to be able to feel that… whenever they went fishing.”

To achieve this dream, Shell began researching solutions and found a company in Florida that makes these reefs and decided to work on bringing them to Mobile waters. 

He created a website to start gaining funding to buy the reefs and immediately saw great success.

Shell crushed his initial goal of placing 100 reefs in 2022 and was able to successfully gather enough funding for 175 reefs to clean over 1.9 billion gallons of water annually.

His remarkable efforts garnered him the Partners for Environmental Progress’s (PEP) 2022 Community Partner Award and the 2024 Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award.

This led to the establishment of a partnership with PEP to help raise monetary funds and the University of South Alabama’s Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences to help identify, select and monitor optimal reef placement locations. 

With the help of partnerships with PEP and USA, Shell increased his goal to 1,000 reefs.

Due to Shell’s consistent commitment and success within his community and academics, he will be attending Dartmouth college starting fall 2024. 

When asked how people could help Shell reach his goal of planting the remaining 875 reefs, he urged supporters to “please go to the website to find out more or donate to the cause.” 

You can find out more and donate at www.theeaglereef.com