In New Orleans, the Local Motives team of Nate Murray and Cody Pfister met up with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) to learn about how they are using oyster shells to protect the coast. Louisiana’s coastal reefs can offer the state protection from hurricanes, but oyster harvesting has led to declines in the reefs. So the CRCL began working with local restaurants to collect their used shells in order to rebuild the reefs.

Check out what they learned in this final video from the On the Road series:

YouTube video
A seagull sits on a pile of oyster shells. (Photo: Courtesy of Cody Pfister)
A seagull sits atop a pile of recycled oysters from local New Orleans restaurants. These oyster shells cure in the sun for six months before being bagged by volunteers and placed along the Louisiana coastline to create the recycled oyster reefs. (Photo: Courtesy of Cody Pfister)

This is the last edition of the “On the Road” video web series, which showcased local perspectives on the challenges and solutions associated with climate change. It is the production of two friends, Nate Murray and Cody Pfister, traveling across the 50 states seeking to establish an authentic conversation about the impacts of climate change. 

Samantha Harrington, director of audience experience for Yale Climate Connections, is a journalist and graphic designer with a background in digital media and entrepreneurship. Sam is especially interested...