Gulfport Student Works on Shellfish Sustainability
Many people on the Mississippi Coast love oysters, but not in the way that Demi Johnson does.
Johnson, a 16-year-old sophomore at Gulfport High School, tends her garden regularly, but not just any “garden.” She cultivates an “oyster garden.” Oysters attach to a cage that Johnson drops into the water off Schooner Pier Complex in Biloxi and checks on them every week. She already grew more than 1,100 oysters.
“I’ve been doing oyster gardening since I was in the seventh grade,” the young lady says. “It’s something I do from late August or early September through March. Once a week, I take them out the water. I look at them closely and take pictures.”
Since Johnson can’t legally drive yet, her mom, Shante Richardson helps. Richardson does the driving and photography besides taking care of a six-year-old.
“I’m not involved in the oysters,” Richardson says. “I’ve just been a chauffeur and photographer all this time. Johnson has her learner’s permit, but we’re not quite there yet for her to get a driver’s license. I take pictures for her weekly trip.”
Most people in the Gulf Coast with access to fresh oysters eat them—raw, grilled, added to any number of recipes or many other delicious dishes. Nobody will eat these oysters. Eventually, Johnson will release them back into the wild to replenish native oyster beds ravaged by too much freshwater influence, multiple storms and other factors in recent years.
“I got the idea from my Girl Scout troop leader,” Johnson recalls. “Once they’re done and the season’s over, the oysters get picked up and dumped out into open water in Bay St. Louis. These oysters are not edible. They are for restoration purposes only. I’m focusing on protecting marine ecosystems and advancing sustainable practices. In 2024, I earned a certificate in Master Oyster Gardening through a program supported by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant and led by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. I also produced a short film, “Off-Bottoms Oysters,” highlighting the importance of biodiversity through storytelling and youth engagement.”
Johnson received other awards for her work including her Girl Scout Silver Award. She’s earning her Girl Scout Gold Award and was named a national delegate representing Greater Mississippi and will travel to Washington, D.C. in July 2026 for the Girl Scout National Convention.
In 2024, Johnson won the National Geographic Slingshot Challenge for making her one-minute video on her oyster project. She earned a trip to Washington, D.C. In 2025, she received an award from the National Marine and Education Association for leadership in conservation among her many honors.
“The Slingshot Challenge is a contest where people submit videos for something about sustainability,” Johnson explains. “My oyster project is a sustainability project. I made the video and talked about my project. I sent everything to them and won.”
She won a $1,000 scholarship for her project as the 2024 National Geographic Slingshot Challenge Significant Achievement Award recipient. In addition, she was named the People’s Choice Award runner-up.
“I am very proud of her,” Richardson says. “It started as something very small. Then, she ended up going to a National Geographic Slingshot Camp at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs. She was also invited to the National Geographic Explorers Festival in 2024. We went and it was phenomenal.”
Johnson plans to attend LSU or the University of Michigan to study environmental science. After college, she wants to attend law school and practice environmental law.
Read more about this amazing young woman at demijoystergarden.my.canvas.site
