Local environmental volunteer receives national honor

Jim Igler's life motto has always been "lead by example."

So it comes as no surprise that on a warm Friday last month near Fort De Soto Park, Igler toiled over a concrete mixer as he built oyster domes that will line the shore near MacDill Air Force Base.

Igler and about 15 other volunteers, some students and some retirees, tirelessly bent down and packed the concrete into the domes, which need to harden before they are shipped to MacDill. The restoration project, a partnership with the Department of Defense and Tampa Bay Watch, is aimed at creating a natural shoreline that spawns sea life through the domed eco communities and protects Tampa's water quality.

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