As the United Nations Decade For Ocean Sciences kicks off this year, Billion Oyster Project is thrilled to be one of 12 new 11th Hour Racing grantees to address plastics pollution, coastal restoration, food waste, and water quality.
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This past weekend we lucked out with cool and sunny summer weather for City of Water Day and the annual Jamaica Bay Festival on Saturday, Sept. 12!
As part of the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Park Conservancy’s virtual festival, Tanasia Swift, our Community Reefs Regional Manager, joined Alex Zablocki at JBRPC to talk about the large oysters growing in Paerdegat Basin near the Sebago Canoe Club.
“We’re not growing oysters for consumption,” explains Tanasia. “We’re growing them so they can provide habitat for animals, which increases biodiversity. Oysters are also filter-feeders so they take in nutrients and suspended particles [as they eat] — clearing the surrounding water.”
If you missed this session, you can still view the recording on our Facebook page.
At roughly the same time, BOP staff and volunteers were on the opposite side of Brooklyn in Domino Park — getting ready to pull up an Oyster Research Station! Passersby in the waterfront park got to examine Billion Oyster Project oysters up close, as well as the crabs and fish that make their home on and around clumps of oysters.
Photos by Hana Isihara
“City of Water Day in Domino Park was a blast” said Agata Poniatowski, Education Outreach Coordinator at BOP. “It was really great to meet folks from the neighborhood who are curious and excited about the Billion Oyster Project’s work in Domino Park, with support from Two Trees!
To learn more about our education programming and upcoming events, visit our STEM Education page and Events page.
On Friday, June 12, nearly 190 people across the Billion Oyster Project community gathered virtually to celebrate the work of students across New York City. Although we were disappointed to miss the opportunity to speak with students in person, we were blown away by the creativity and thought that went into more than 70 student projects submitted from 10 different schools.
Read MoreAs we attempt to process the inequities, fear, and violence we have observed over the last week, we are anguished and angry about the systemic racism that Black Americans continue to face. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
Read MoreAt Billion Oyster Project every day is a new opportunity to celebrate the nature around us, but this week is extra special. This Wednesday 4/22 marks the 50th Annual celebration of Earth Day! Although this celebration is bound to look a little different than those in years past, it can be full of hands-on experiences, learning, and appreciation.
This week, we will be introducing a new activity or virtual event every day!
Read MoreWe’ve experienced less than two weeks of COVID-19 quarantine here in New York City, but the Billion Oyster Project crew is already eager to get back on Governors Island — the headquarters we share with the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School. In anticipation of being reunited, we want to take this opportunity to explain the unique partnership between Billion Oyster Project and our flagship public school.
Read MoreIn mid-December, the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School held its annual Professional Advisory Committee meeting on Governors Island. Among 60+ industry partners, who attended on behalf of the school’s seven Career & Technical Education programs, was Harbor School grad Awa Sylla. Awa (pictured below) graduated from the Marine Systems Technology CTE program, and has since landed a job at Ironworkers Local 580.
Read MoreWe are thrilled to share our new Ecosystem Engineers curriculum, funded by Con Edison, for grades 4-10. Five units cover the topics of: oyster anatomy, how oysters "clear" water, the food web in New York Harbor, oyster reef construction, and Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs).
We invite educators to learn more and download these lessons here.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, June 25, nearly 150 students from across the five boroughs boarded the Governors Island ferry for the 5th Annual BOP Research Symposium. These students finished off the school year with enthusiastic presentations of their findings on everything from microplastics in our oceans, to plankton in Harlem, to whether it's possible to clean up the Gowanus Canal with oysters.
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