Eagle Reef Project

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Mobile (FUA)

Region

Northern America

Short description of the intervention

The Eagle Reef Project was launched to restore the health of Mobile Bay in response to habitat loss and declining fish populations due to the degradation of oyster and seagrass beds [REF 1, REF 6]. Originally planned in 2022 as an Eagle Scout service project by John Shell of Boy Scout Troop 147, the project has grown into a regional environmental initiative supported by Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP), the University of South Alabama’s Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and municipalities such as the City of Fairhope [REF 3, REF 4, REF 7].
The project deploys preassembled mini reefs—constructed from plastic and PVC—beneath docks and piers across Mobile and Baldwin counties. These reefs, once colonised by filter feeders like oysters and barnacles, can filter up to 20,000 gallons of water daily and serve as habitats for fish, shrimp, and crabs [REF 1, REF 4]. The initiative aims to improve water quality, sequester nutrients, reduce algae, and restore marine biodiversity [REF 1, REF 6].
The Eagle Reef Project addresses critical coastal hazards, including water pollution, fish habitat loss, and the legacy of environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill [REF 4]. It combines scientific monitoring, civic engagement, and scalable design to enhance the region’s climate resilience and ecological health [REF 1, REF 6, REF 7].

Principal problems

Environmental Degradation

Biodiversity loss

Poor water quality

Other

Please specify other principal problem

Fish habitat loss

Implementation area characterization

Climate

Temperate ( Humid subtropical, Hot-summer Mediterranean, Warm-summer Mediterranean, Warm-temperate with dry winter)

Ecosystem

Sandy coastal ecosystems (including beaches and dunes)

Shallow waters (saline)

Coastal wetlands

Address

United States

Location

Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place

Area boundary (map-based)

NBS area image

Source of NBS area image

PEP Mobile, locations marked on the map are all approximate locations

Area description

Seascape

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Sea coast (e.g. dunes, beach)

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

2019

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

2022

End date of the intervention

ongoing

Present stage of the intervention

Ongoing

2. Objectives of the intervention

Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

-Restore and revitalise marine and coastal ecosystems by deploying mini reefs across Coastal Alabama. [REF 1]
-Improve water quality through natural filtration by oysters and barnacles on the reefs, each filtering up to 20,000 gallons per day.[REF 1, REF 4]
-Rebuild fish and crab populations by providing artificial habitats and nursery grounds under docks and piers.[REF 1, REF 3, REF 5]
-Engage and educate the community, including youth, private property owners, and local governments, in environmental stewardship and coastal restoration.[REF 3, REF 6, REF 7]
-Support scientific research and monitoring through partnerships with the University of South Alabama to assess water quality and reef performance. [REF 1, REF 4, REF 6]

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)

Climate change adaptation

Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)

Marine and coastal biodiversity protection

Marine and coastal research and/or education

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Habitat and biodiversity restoration

Water management (SDG 6)

Improvements to water quality

Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)

Environmental education

Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?

Restore mangroves, marshes, reefs and wetlands to dissipate the effects of storms and floodwaters

Protect and restore coastal ecosystems, to address loss of land and livelihoods, due to rising sea levels

What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?

Species-focused

What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?

Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)

Restore native species

Restore valued species

Restore endangered species

Public engagement

Implementation activities and NBS focus

Implementation activities

-Design and manufacture of mini reefs made from plastic, PVC pipes, and rope to mimic natural habitats [REF 5].
-Purchase of preassembled mini reefs from Ocean Habitats, a Florida-based manufacturer [REF 6].
-Installation of reefs under docks, wharfs, and piers in Mobile and Baldwin counties, tied between four pilings and floating with the tide [REF 1, REF 7].
-Initial deployment of 175 reefs by John Shell with volunteer support, surpassing the original goal of 50 reefs [REF 3, REF 5].
-Fundraising efforts by John Shell and later by PEP, raising over $52,000 to support reef deployment [REF 3, REF 6].
-Community engagement and volunteer mobilisation, including Boy Scout participation and individual homeowners offering locations for reef placement [REF 3, REF 6].
-Partnership development with the University of South Alabama for reef site identification, deployment, maintenance, and water quality monitoring [REF 1, REF 4].
-Expansion goal of deploying 1,000 reefs by the end of 2024, led by PEP and supported by local government and corporate sponsors [REF 4, REF 6].
-Educational outreach activities, such as using reef sites to teach students and visitors about marine ecosystems (e.g., Pelican’s Nest in Fairhope) [REF 7].

Type of NBS project

Coastal landscape management or protection

Coastal ecosystems restoration and maintenance (mangroves, dunes, saltplains, underwater meadows)

Coral reef restoration

Ecological restoration of ecosystems

Restoration and protection of ecosystems (including water ecosystems)

Protection of natural ecosystems

Marine and coastal conservation initiatives

Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity

Species-specific monitoring and conservation programs

3. NBS domains, ES and scale

NBS domain and interventions

Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented

Blue infrastructure

Coastlines

Amenities offered by the NBS

Unknown

Design elements for well-being

None of the above

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Provisioning services

Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)

Habitat and supporting services

Habitats for species

Cultural services

Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)

Physical and experiential interactions with plants and animals

Scale

Spatial scale

Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level

Beneficiaries

Demographics in implementation area

Socio-economic profile of the area

Unknown

Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts

Yes

Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities

Coastal communities

Non-government actors

Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups

Primary Beneficiaries

Researchers/University

Coastal-dependent communities (e.g. small-scale fishers, coastal farmers, and indigenous peoples)

Young people and children

Specify primary beneficiaries

Recreational fishers and tourists – who benefit from revitalized fish populations and improved recreational opportunities in coastal waters [REF 4, REF 5].
Youth and student groups – such as Boy Scouts and schoolchildren who are engaged through hands-on learning, volunteerism, and environmental education programs [REF 3, REF 7].
Scientific and academic institutions – particularly the University of South Alabama, which gains research opportunities in marine restoration, water quality monitoring, and environmental science education [REF 1, REF 4, REF 6].

Marginalized groups

Unknown

Other beneficiaries

Local wildlife (e.g., birds, pollinators)

Natural habitats (e.g. wetland, forests, coastal areas)

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Led by non-government actors

Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative

The project was initiated by John Shell, a Boy Scout, as part of his Eagle Scout service project [REF 3, REF 5].
The initiative is primarily coordinated and expanded by the Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP), a non-governmental environmental organization [REF 1, REF 4, REF 6].
The University of South Alabama, an academic institution, plays a supporting role in deployment, research, and monitoring [REF 1, REF 4].

Key actors - initiating organization

Citizens or community group

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

Non-government organisation/civil society

Researchers/university

Stages of citizen and community engagement

Planning and design (e.g. site selection, identification of key priorities)

Development of project proposal

Decision-making among different alternative plans

On-the-ground implementation

Monitoring and evaluation of project outcomes

Level of citizen and community engagement

High

Community empowerment or capacity-building initiatives

Implementation of educational programs, workshops or trainings

Establishment of mentorship programs or partnerships with local institutions (e.g. schools, kinder gardens, hospitals, nursing homes)

Participatory methods/forms of stakeholder involvement (all stakeholders)

Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget

Dissemination of information and education

Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Citizen science

Uncommon actors ("Missing actors")

Community & Social Groups

Activist groups (e.g. climate, environment, justice, etc)

Other

Please specify other missing actor

Scouts

Land owners

Other

Please specify other landowner

Sea

Policy drivers

NBS intervention implemented in response to a Regional Directive/Strategy

NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan

NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Voluntary (spontaneous)

Enablers & Barriers

Type of enablers

NGOs/Community groups driving the implementation

Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)

Change agents (individual with major role influence on launching)

Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)

Please provide details (e.g, name of the plan or strategy) for the selected policies or initiatives.

Change agents: John Shell, a Boy Scout, is the clear change agent who conceived, launched, and scaled the project initially through personal initiative and leadership [REF 3, REF 5].
NGO: The project is led and expanded by Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP), a local NGO focused on environmental sustainability [REF 1, REF 4, REF 6].

Governace and decison-making instruments

Economic and fiscal instruments (e.g. subsidies or grants, charges or fees, payments for ecosystem services (PES))

Public - private business agreement (e.g. public private collaborations, public-private-partnerships (PPP))

Educational and knowledge sharing instruments (e.g. science/ living labs, awareness raising campaigns, specific educational programs, green hubs)

Arrangements for governance cooperation

Financial mechanisms for resource pooling or sharing (e.g. cooperative financing)

Barriers

Project continuity beyond individual leadership; Limited government leadership or integration into formal planning

Financing

Total cost

€50,000 - €100,000

Please specify total cost (EUR)

€47,840 EUR - John Shell raised over $52,000 to fund the installation of the first 175 reefs [REF 3, REF 5].

What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?

€47,840 EUR

Source(s) of funding

Public regional budget

Corporate investment

Crowdfunding

Private funding by citizens

Type of fund(s) used

Earmarked public budget

Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Donations

Non-financial contribution

Yes

Who provided the non-financial contribution?

Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Type of non-financial contribution

Provision of labour

Provision of expertise

Co-finance for NBS

Yes

Co-governance arrangement

Unknown

Entrepreneurship opportunities

Business models

Risk reduction model

Urban offsetting model (biodiversity or water)

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Citizens / local communities

5. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Water management and blue areas

Improved water quality

Expected improved water quality

Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems

Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems

Green space and habitat

Reduced biodiversity loss

Achieved reduced biodiversity loss

Increased number of species present

Achieved increased number of species present

Increased presence and recovery of wild species

Achieved increased presence and recovery of wild species

Description of environmental benefits

-Expected improved water quality: Water quality improvement through filtration by oysters and barnacles—each reef expected to filter up to 20,000 gallons/day or 7.3 million gallons/year [REF 1, REF 4]. Early indicators of successful water filtration and habitat formation, validated by the University of South Alabama through monitoring efforts [REF 1, REF 4].
-Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems: Restoration of marine biodiversity, including fish, crabs, shrimp, and other species attracted to reef habitats [REF 1, REF 3]. Sequestration of nutrients and inhibition of algal blooms through the action of filter feeders [REF 1].
-Achieved reduced biodiversity loss: Observed colonization by oysters, barnacles, fish, and crabs within 6 months of installation, demonstrating functional habitat creation [REF 4, REF 5].Support for coastal ecosystem resilience by replacing lost oyster beds and grass habitats [REF 1, REF 4].
-Achieved: increased number of species present: 175 reefs deployed, filtering an estimated 1.5 to 2 billion gallons of water annually [REF 3, REF 5]. Creation of up to 500,000 new marine animals/year once 1,000 reefs are installed (including fish and crabs) [REF 4, REF 6].

Economic impacts

Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)

Achieved generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)

Description of economic benefits

Achieved generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation): Volunteerism and community involvement: Residents, scouts, and local groups helped assemble and install reefs, building local ownership and engagement [REF 3, REF 6].

Please specify other socio-cultural impact

Recognition and celebration of civic leadership

Evidence for use of assessment

Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Type of indicators

Output indicators

Progress indicators

Outcome indicators

Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Use of GIS in mapping impacts

No evidence in public records

Transparency

Unknown

Justice

Community satisfaction

Unknown

Trade-offs & Negative impacts

Unknown

Measures to prevent gentrification or displacement

No initiatives or policies were implemented

High-quality & Transformative NBS

Multiple impacts delivery (climate, biodiversity, just community)

Goal setting and impacts delivery

In the planning phase, the project aimed to address issues in all 3 key priority areas, but impacts were not delivered in all three key areas.

Reaching original project goals

Most of the project goals were achieved

Long-term perspective

Yes

Cost-effective solutions

Unknown

Equitable impacts

C. Unknown

Transformative capacity

Social change (e.g. social relationships, networks and dynamics within them)

Ecological change (e.g. ecosystem functions and their distribution)

Technical change (e.g. built infrastructure of cities and their parts, roads, buildings and so on)

Systemic change (the NBS caused changes across the social, ecological and technological dimensions)

Magnitude of change

Transformative: (deep) by focusing on and substantially changing structures, including institutional ones (norms and rules).

Application of lessons learned

Unknown

Perception of Environmental Change

Unknown

6. Sources

References

Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) (n.d.). Eagle Reef (PEP Mobile). [Source link] [Archive];

PEP Mobile (2024). Eagle-Reef-Installations. [Source link] [Archive];

PEP Mobile (n.d.). John Shell – Eagle Reef Project. [Source link] [Archive];

(2023). Mobile Bay artificial reef project expands beyond Boy Scout’s original goals. [Source link] [Archive];

AL.com (2023). Boy Scout raises $52,000 for 175 artificial reefs to support ocean life in Mobile Bay. [Source link] [Archive];

Science 98 Coastal (2023). Eagle Reef Project Update. [Source link] [Archive];

FOX10 News (2023). Fairhope supports Eagle Reef Project with placement of 14 reefs under city piers. [Source link] [Archive];

Comments and notes

Additional insights

John Shell initially set a goal of placing 50 reefs but exceeded expectations by installing 175 units and raising over $52,000 [REF 3, REF 5]. With PEP and USA’s involvement, the expanded goal is to install 1,000 reefs by the end of 2024, with an anticipated impact of filtering up to 10 billion gallons of water annually and creating habitats for up to 500,000 fish and crabs per year [REF 4, REF 6, REF 7].

Public Images

The Eagle Reef project

Ref. 1

The Eagle Reef project

Ref. 1

The Eagle Reef project

Ref. 1

Installed reef locations

Ref. 2, by PEPMobile