Volunteers have started making oyster mats to help filter water in the Indian River Lagoon.
Lawmakers and environmentalists are waiting and hoping Governor Scott signs off on millions of dollars to help the Indian River Lagoon.
The health of the lagoon has been a concern since hundreds of manatees, dolphins and pelicans have washed up dead on the shore.
But residents aren't waiting to start helping out the lagoon.
These oyster shells could be one of the keys to restoring the Indian River Lagoon.
"The lagoon is having a little health problem as I like to say," said Elaine Reynolds, Satellite Beach.
Volunteers of all ages pitched into to make these oyster mats in Satellite Beach Saturday.
"We love the Indian River Lagoon and we just want to show it," said Lauren Harrison, Satellite Beach.
Algae blocking sunlight has killed off sea grass, a main food source for marine life in the lagoon.
To combat the algae, the Brevard Zoo has turned to oyster mats, which provide a habitat for oysters.
"They can filter out that algae so all that mucky, dirty water that we have, they filter out and what they spit out is nice, clean, clear water," said Sammy Anderson, Brevard Zoo.
Lawmakers say they want to boost those efforts, so they’ve appropriated $410,000 for a large scale oyster restoration project in Brevard County.
Oysters can filter 50 gallons of water a day, but they’ve been overharvested in the Indian River since the 1980s.
"This lagoon, you know the most productive lagoon in North America, is dying, it's dying because of urban runoff, and it's not just what's happening now, but it's the culmination of 60 years of impact," said Sen. Thad Altman.
The Brevard Zoo and volunteers been doing this since 2007 and so far, they’ve been able to restore 63 oyster reefs.
But their work isn’t over yet.
They’ll be deploying these mats next month.
The legislature also appropriated $20 million to remove muck from the lagoon.
These oyster mats will be deployed in the Mosquito Lagoon, which is a part of the Indian River Lagoon system.