OUR FIRST SUMMER EDUCATION PROGRAM
In accordance with our mission to engage students in our restoration practices and field-based education, Billion Oyster Project’s educational offerings during the school year are expansive - from printable curriculum to live oyster monitoring within the classroom. This year, we were able to bring waterfront programming into the summer with a focus on field experience and exploration of New York City’s great outdoors.
In partnership with the Double Discovery Center, we took twelve students to waterfront locations across the five boroughs to experience various parts of the Billion Oyster Project restoration process and what it takes to promote a healthy harbor.
The program was born from dedicated Harbor School Alumna, Leticia Vasquez - currently with the Double Discovery Program through Columbia University. This unique partnership allowed us the chance to engage a core group of students in hands-on ecological education and watch them grow as individual learners.
WEEK ONE
We kicked off the program with a trip to the mouth of the East River in the Bronx at SUNY Maritime. Students - some for the first time - experienced holding the oysters we’ve grown in our Oyster Research Stations. Participants especially loved encountering small mud crabs and green crabs - each taking the time to interact with the marine life while discussing the importance of oyster reefs as habitat and vehicles for increasing local biodiversity.
WEEK TWO
Our second excursion was a site walk through Gantry State Park in Queens - in the shoes of waterfront park designers. We critiqued the park’s attributes and brainstormed elements to add to the park’s sustainability such as planting more trees for shade and refurbishing old waterfront structures for recreational fishing.
WEEK THREE
Next, we got our hands dirty at Billion Oyster Project’s Brooklyn Bridge Park Field Station. Participants learned how to monitor water quality and seine to sample the site’s biodiversity. While the oxygen levels were low in the harbor due to the heat, the group's spirits were quickly rose as they pulled up at least 50 silversides, comb jellies, a flounder fish and other wildlife on the Dog Beach.
WEEK FOUR
Lessons in data collection continued on our following trip to the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island. Participants surveyed oyster growth on two Oyster Research Stations just like our community scientists - working with calipers and recording data. The students showcased incredible attention to detail by uncovering a baby skillet fish - the size of an ant - growing up in the oyster clumps!
WEEK FIVE
The last day of the program was spent at our headquarters on Governors Island off the shorelines of Lower Manhattan. In addition to processing restaurant shells at the Shell Pile, students learned about the legacy of oysters and their midden in New York City, dating back to the 1600’s with the indigenous Lenapehoking.
We had a wonderful summer with participants from the Double Discovery Center and we hope to see them lead as NYC’s next environmental stewards - keeping New York Harbor in mind every step of the way.
Link to original article can be found here.