Support Billion Oyster Project this Giving Season!

Dear Friends & Supporters,

Since 2014, Billion Oyster Project has been working to improve two dynamic and complex systems; New York Harbor and New York City Public School District, the largest and most diverse in the country.

Over the years, our work has become more focused and this clarity of mission and purpose has made our efforts more accessible to a broader community.

Our purpose is clear. We need to restore oyster reefs because they used to thrive here in great numbers and, as ecosystem engineers, are essential to the landscape. We need to train students to do the work because restoration without education is fleeting and when given this great responsibility, students excel. We need to push public policy to not only prevent damage to the natural environment but also to facilitate improvements and restoration. We need to make our work accessible to the general public because all communities that live on or near the Harbor deserve to understand and have access to their greatest natural resource.

Please consider joining this effort and supporting our work today. 

Our movement is gaining strength. Throughout New York City, we see our community getting to know the Harbor and working to improve it. Through our volunteer programs, education and outreach, shell collection and oyster installation activities we’ve engaged thousands in oyster restoration this year alone. To date, Billion Oyster Project has restored more than 30 million oysters at 13 reef sites resulting in 7 acres of restored habitat. We look forward to using this momentum created by our community to scale our operation over the next five years to reach 100 million oysters restored by 2025. 

We already see a renewed, livelier harbor. Journalists and news producers report on cleaner water and the efforts of our students and community. Readers and viewers are beginning to change their perception of the murky water, understanding that there is life below the surface. Many are accessing the Harbor for the first time, and imagining what it would be like to coexist with a thriving natural resource. 

We are getting closer to delivering on this dream ­— please consider joining us in support of Billion Oyster Project today.

With Gratitude,

Pete Malinowski
Executive Director