Now, bivalves are back, but they’re not for eating. These oysters have a mission: ecological restoration.
The Billion Oyster Project is an ambitious, volunteer-driven initiative manned largely by NYC middle school students. Why oysters? They can filter toxins from up to 30 gallons of water a day, helping restore the harbor’s ecosystem, which includes crabs, sea squirts and other aquatic wildlife. Project manager Samuel Janis says when kids “see the restorative power of oysters, they’re blown away.”
Today, BOP estimates 11 million oysters are alive and well in the old harbor. They plan to reach 1 billion by 2030, thus reclaiming the harbor’s former title: oyster capital of the world.
Volunteers are both middle school and high school students./Photo courtesy Billion Oyster Project.
Each year, the hatchery grows more than 10 million oysters./Photo courtesy Billion Oyster Project.
11.5 million
oysters grown in New York Harbor
1.05 acres
reef area restored
93,600
pounds of shell cycled
6.75 million
pounds of nitrogen removed from New York Harbor
2,150
high school students engaged
875
middle school students engaged
Its web game, Enkaku Noujyo (“Remote Farm”), lets players plant cartoonish fruits, vegetables, and grains in virtual dirt – at which point real-life versions get put into the ground at an actual farm. When a user waters the in-game crops, a farmer does the same to the living ones. Should the produce survive the season (including problems posed by weather, bugs, and animals), the resulting harvest is delivered to the user’s doorstep. Enkaku Noujyo builds
This is day 18 in our Hatch-along of Buff Orpington eggs. We are now in “lockdown,” which refers to the day after which we no longer open the incubator. It is also the day that we stop turning the eggs and increase humidity. On day 18, the embryo begins to position itself for the hatch: its head is tucked under its right wing and it orients its head towards the wide end of the egg where the air cell is located. If a broody hen were sitting on these eggs
Most people think in words. Animals think in pictures. I think in pictures, so it was obvious to me to look at what an animal sees [on its way to slaughter]. In the 1970s, that was radical stuff. Claire Danes did a great, great job portraying me. The movie [2010’s Temple Grandin] showed my visual thinking very accurately. It was like going back in a time machine. I was mistaken to believe I could fix everything in the livestock industry. I’ve taug
The 2,400-pound bison, named Wild Thing, is allowed inside Bridges’ Texas home, which he shares with his wife Sherron. And apparently that’s the only place where this beast is gentle and calm. (So we would hope!) We should note that we do not condone letting any sort of wild animal inside your home. We repeat: We do not condone this. (The look on the BBC reporter’s face at 0:09? Perfect.) All kidding aside, this is fascinating. Flip through m