How oyster beds can rebuild New York harbor | WILD HOPE
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- En Español: • Cómo los arrecifes de ...
New York Harbor was a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity-until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster.
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Born and raised in brooklyn, so I can confirm the cleaner water. The gowanus canal no longer stinks. The new marshes at the shirley chisolm park and around Mill Basin are teeming with wildlife like songbirds, newts and crabs; the environment reminded me so much of when I went kayaking in south carolina. The rockaway beaches have water so clear people can't believe it's nyc when I show them photos of teal colored water reminscent of the caribbean. I routinely see dolphins when I go to the beaches now, and whale watching companies have popped up...because the whales are back! Plus all the waterfront parks created post-Sandy [in brooklyn, staten island, and manhattan] are gorgeous. I love visiting these parks because there are so many recreational activities and gardens to enjoy. Headed in the right direction on this one, NY❣️
So happy to hear about this! I remember growing up hearing stories about how New York is a city jungle with very little wildlife and vegetation. The only green was Central Park. It was such a foreign concept, so it was a joy to hear about The High Line project, and now this! May New York continue to prosper with the natural environmental space.
Eat some of those oysters lmk how u feel LOL
@@Stalicus watch the video. It says these are not oysters safe for eating dumbass lol
Thats always been my biggest gripe with cities is the concrete jungle with little vegetation/wildlife aspect, its nice seeing more cities taking steps with the environment.
@@Stalicus they arleady said they are too toxic to eat
Such a breath of fresh air to watch something positive about real normal people getting together to make a change. Thank you.😊
My daughter was a student who studied scuba diving and rebuilding the harbor through a program at NY Harbor school and the one billion oyster project! Iim so happy that she was a part of this amazing program!❤️🙏🏽❤️
I read years ago that NY harbor was extremely clear in colonial times due to oysters. Dumping raw sewage and industrial waste killed the oysters. I'm glad you're doing this.
It wasn't just the dumping, the harvesting of billions of oysters meant the habitat couldn't filter all that dumping. We did the same to the Chesapeake Bay. Hopefully we can see both places with clean water in this century.
The dumping happened after the oysters were gone. The oyster reefs were killed by dredging. The reefs could handle hand harvesting, they were huge and the oysters reproduced really fast and had lots of reef to attach to. But in the late 19th century we started harvesting oysters by dredging, basically we'd use massive rakes to bring up the whole reef just to get the live oysters. It destroyed the reefs. No reefs meant the end of the oysters.
Basically, everywhere dredging for oysters happened oysters were wiped out very quickly.
the amount of damage america did to their own land in the past was terrifying. This is why environmental protections and regulations need to exist. Do you really want to live in a polluted wasteland just so your boss can make more money?
@@nanonano2595 You should have seen the mess in east Germany after the Soviets left. They left half a world one gigantic Super fund sight. Most former Soviet countries nave cleaned their countries, rewild their green spaces and just modernized. The only country that did not do this is Russia. Western Russia is a cess pit and they think the got it good and the west rotting. We're fixing our mistakes of our past, while there's places in Russia that are so toxic that even a Russian couldn't live there. The sad thing is that there's never going to be a way to clean those places up.
Water was also colder which contributes to clarity
Need a few thousand people like this man and we could transform our environment. Teaching kids how to be self sufficient and improve the environment is a win win. Grest job!
The kids and volunteers make up the group, which is great!
You only need 1, an idea can spread.
@@bobbah676 spread it faster. We need to change now
And improved sewage treatment, electric boat, lot's of EV chargers, electric trucks. First offshore wind farm is up. Not huge, 132mw, but the next one is 5x. Clean air to go with clean water.😊
Terrific video ! The Clean Water act was one of the best pieces of legislation ever passed imo . Civilization can’t exist without clean water , period .
Restaurant worker here, it would require almost no extra time to separate shells into recycle containers. Everything gets sorted before it gets cleaned anyway, so it would only really require an extra bucket for oyster shells to go in.
Can confirm. I started bartending in 2002 at a Joe’s Crab Shack and we were also responsible for shucking all oysters to order. It would’ve taken no time at all to put the shells in a separate bucket, rinse them, and have them ready to be picked up
This is a great project. It's rejuvenating the harbor, inspiring young people, and bringing together the city.
The water was probably crystal clean 500yrs ago. Thank god we have the ability today to fix the mistakes of the past. 🙏🏼
Saying hello from Kenya! This is such a wonderful and beautiful project. I'm praying for all the teams and people involved in this project. Hopefully one day my kids and I will travel to see the Big Oyster!
Wow, I love this model of using oyster reefs as growing sea walls rather than expecting we will wall off the sea. Instead this is a much less invasive and more practical approach!
Please keep making episodes! I am so glad I found this. I usually don't watch videos, but I'm glad I made the exception this time. From the calming voice of the narrator, to the scenes, the positive tone of the stories, I think it's so instructional and valuable. Keep going!
Everything was like a smooth ride until the sceptical commentator yelling GREENWASHING!😊
Love this. Any kind of restoration and allowing Mother Nature to do what she does gives me hope!
Thank you for bringing this story to my attention! What a beautiful, inspiring project. Glad to hear about it
Read a book called "The Big Oyster" , A history of New York from the oyster perspective. A very enjoyable read.
US & the EU should have a law in place where all oyster restaurants are mandated to collect the used shells for coastal rehabitation
I mean, that's a smart solution. Yeah. Landfills are a tomb that permanently locks that stuff away.
Mandates suck. Donations from restaurants would be high being that they have a vision for future generations.
No middens near me.
The shell recycling is not just beneficial to reef building. Young oysters need high lime concentrations in the water for rapid growth. For centuries, we have been dumping oyster shells in middens on the land when we should have been throwing shells back into the water to restore the lime concentration in the water.
not mandates, but tax exempt. incentives will bring in the shells.
I love these series. Creativity in service of rewilding.
Love the full circle that people have created to support our mother earth 💕
Fabulous! So glad to see this. With all the incredible wealth in this city, it would be easy to fund these cures if only people’s’ hearts were in the right place. C’mon New York - do it!!! 👍🙏🏻❤
that harbor seal clip really made me smile
First I've heard of this initiative, and I love it. Especially how there's an ecosystem within the city that revolves around bringing these oysters back.
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Keep up the good work.
From the uk. Have seen some videos about the use of oysters in the actual Hudson. This presentation is impressive because it brings nature, science, educational opportunities, engagement with local businesses and reconnects a City to the reason why it became a great city. Where I live we had a sea water pollution problem and you could not eat locally sourced shellfish. Not gone down the oyster route but this was interesting and inspirational. Thanks for sharing this!
We've used them and lots of Clams in Jamaica Bay as well.
Update. Where I live they have just ‘seeded’ an oyster bed. Part govt agency/part donations I believe……might be something in this!
@@robstafford8306Then the UK government lets raw sewage be dumped straight into the sea. Guess that’s one Brexit benefit!
Thoroughly enjoyed this post! God bless from Australia 💚
Great. Oysters do amazing work. Imagine it can get to the point where Sponges and Sea Cucumbers are also contribute. Crustaceans too. Many species in nature do cleaning work.
Hello from Okalhoma! Good Video! It's good to see an actual solution to a problem put in place instead of just Blah, Blah, Blah. The cool thing about oysters', clams and snails, they are little vacuum cleaners. They will clean the area even more once they take hold in a big way. As shown at about 14:00. We have invasive zebra mussels in our lakes here. Once they took hold, they cleared up the lake water a bunch. So glad someone is finding a solution to a problem!👍👍
What an amazing project. The difference in the harbor's waters is a testament to ALL of the hard work people have been doing since the passage of the Clean Water Act.
I grew up not far from NYC in Northern NJ... and I can remember how bad the water quality was in the late 70s and early 80's.
Keep up the EXCELLENT WORK.
Oysters ability to clean water is superb. Same with all the shellfish like giant clams and barnacles. We have to maintain them and not over-consume them to extinction.
It’d be great to see the NY harbor eventually get as alive again as Monterey Bay:))
Ridiculous condition for NYC to still be dumping sewage into the river today.
Ordinarily, the city does not. But when the city’s infrastructure was built a century and more ago, storm drains were originally combined in the same flow-stream as household and commercial sewage. While long-term projects eventually intend to separate storm drainage from sewage entirely, that’s a huge job, which is still a long way from complete. As a result, when there is unusually heavy rain, the additional flow overwhelms the maximum capacity of the sewage treatment plants, and the excess must be diverted directly to outflows in the harbor. Nobody likes that, but there’s nowhere to store all the wastewater in those circumstances.
O shit. I gotta move back home and work for this guy.
So happy to see this! Am definitely sharing this. I'm a native long Islander
Modern day world with its knowledge should really be building the earth instead of destroying it. There's hope, we owe it to our ancestors and future generations. Cant wait to see this in 15 years time.
This is fantastic. Thank you to the people doing this!!
What a true inspiration.
So relieved to see restoration underway. One of my more depressing recent reads was about the New York oyster trade. From "Just wade in and grab an oyster ten inches long" to "don't eat the wiped-out stunted sewage and toxic waste pills" in just one century. (The same with the cod trade) That old attitude... that "See a natural resource? Consume it. All of it. Let nothing stand in the way of commodifying it to death" attitude is hard to grasp in modern retrospect.
The colonization of North America destroyed countless unimaginable diverse ecosystem across the continent. It is incredibly sad
One thing we can say about human kind is that ONE MAN OR WOMAN can make a difference in this world ❤❤
I love this project, i want all the best for everyone involved
As a New Yorker from Long Island, THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!
I was driving to Coney Island from my moms the other day and saw all the beautiful shoreline parks that i've never been too because Long Island is a bubble... I wish I enjoyed Nature, and had a chance to help like this. PLEASSSSSE Bring recruitment to high schools for entry level positions, even if its just a summer project! (But i'm sure some kids would realize that this is more important than school and being apart of this project can be the perfect stepping stone for success)
There is an account written by a Dutch visitor to New Amsterdam. He traveled from New Amsterdam to Harlem. In the account he complains about how the roads on the island are all covered with peaches. After a night in Harlem, he and his small party cross over the East River and walk down along the East River. They stop at a farm near present day Williamsburg for dinner. The farmer goes out into the water and returns with a batch of oysters that were a foot long.
Great video! Inspiring to see.
The driver/s of this initiative are modern day heroes, so different from the powder puffs we are seeing everywhere these days. Congratulations
I comment because this brought me much joy and I cannot like this twice 😁
I worked as a wastewater treatment plant operator for years on the Pacific ocean coast in Washington state. Our plant was located next to a National Wildlife Refuge and was part of the ecosystem for the area. We watched the birds fly through the refuge in their regular seasonal migrations and viewed everything from shorebirds to Peregrine Falcons and Snowy Owls. Wildlife biologists would trap and band birds every year at our plant for their research purposes. The bay was filled with salmon, seals and occasionally orcas. Elk would visit us in the winter, along with other animals. The only problem with having such a great habitat for birds and other animals was the bird watchers who would expect to have access to every part of our plant! We had to put up signs and fences to keep people out of dangerous areas, and some of them were really upset with us when we told them that they had to stay out of our operations areas! I’ve had my rear end chewed out by little old lady bird watchers multiple times!
Beach Channel HS Alum here. Was in the short-lived Fine Arts program. So glad to hear the Oceanography school didnt get shut down when they decided to use the places as a teenage playpen for junior thugs.
There really is no place like New York. The New York spirit is IMHO truly unique. The Billion Oyster Project and the Living Break waters project are both excellent projects.
the fact that only 50 restaurants are participating in recycling their oyster shells is extremely disappointing
In New Zealand we feed crushed oyster shell to our chickens
It's a start, let's hope more join
But how many restaurants do you think serve oysters? They probably have the biggest consuming restaurants involved and if it’s 50 thats a lot.
@@drinny26 I sure hope so! but i would guess at least a couple hundred, if not thousand, restaurants in the city serve oysters. they're pretty popular
THIS IS SUCH an amazing project. I remember learning about this in 2014 when BOP just started and I was a freshman at NYU.
I'm going to buy some oysters next week. Love them!
Incredibly exciting project!
From food to savior of NYC
Amazing project to better the waters of the city !
I remember the waters of New York. I was young, little thing. My dad had small boat and took the family out for rides, fishing n picnics on some lost shore. I recall looking into the water as I crossed into the boat, looking over the side as we bobbed in the water. Glass clear water, I would see the plants growing on the bottom, the fish swimming around.
THOSE were good days.
God bless Pete!
omg the tank of water w oysters!!! magic cleaning!
The technology of oyster farming is an amazing process for cleaning out unwanted products out of water ways , I've been very interested in its applications and benefits, especially in areas that are over developing housing and industrial farmers because of their runoff waste. I think of how fisheries are impacted by these waste products and how they affect the salmon population. I look at all the major rivers that run from Central California into the estuaries of the Bay Area and feel this technology would be a huge benefit to our ecosystem and economy. Overall, it's a cleaner California for greater benefits.
This is SO cool!!!
Amazing video. I was unaware how important Oysters were to both the human history, and ecosystem of New York. It’s amazing to see the efforts to restore a critical keystone species. I hope other communities take inspiration and follow the example.
Amazing!!!
Great job❤ other cities should also do do it
And build more oyster schools for kids, they would love it.
borys delgado said the oyster shells go back to ocean to be reborn again. beautiful!
Awesome!!!
So much we can learn from the design of the natural world.
I live in the Metro area and am so discouraged by the ongoing lack of prevention: the sewage discharge problem, the number of superfund cleanup sites that are coastal or contaminate our groundwater, the litter everywhere that enters storm drains and inevitably ends up in the rivers here, and because seemingly no-one cares. These 2 have amazing courage, discpline, tenacity, and purpose. They will need it going forward because they are fighting an uphill battle and have a LONG, LONG way to go.
Good to see. I wonder if the Harbour School has seen similar work being done here in Australia? In Sydney Harbour, in addition to remaking oyster reefs, there’s a program installing special sea wall tiles to facilitate the return of a variety of species using tile designs that mimic natural rock habitats. Turning walls with unfriendly straight concrete drops into habitat.
Love this content!
Keep up the great work !!! 😊😊😊
Edgar Allen Poe wrote a book on bivalve mollusks. This is truly poetic ❤
Beautiful,brilliant approach to restoration!
you know the more i see these types of videos, videos of restoration projects, its usually because this generation is cleaning up the past generations wake of disasters.
Brilliant
im so glad i live in california which has enough advocacy to preserve our water and land
Years ago New York was known for their oysters
Id love to see an update in this
Such a great project! Hopefully they or someone else also broadens the species and do something like muscles and / or kelp. Both are also great at cleaning and offers bio diversity... another MAJOR restoration we need to do as a civilization.
The world has a right to happiness
Serious question here re: the 7:20 minute mark of the video. The use of galvanized Gabion cages in this project brings up an important environmental consideration: the potential risk of lead contamination from the zinc coating used in galvanization. The primary concerns in this context are 1) Lead in Zinc Coating - he specific risk in the context of the Billion Oyster Project would depend on the lead content in the zinc used for the gabions. 2) Leaching into Waterways: Over time, the zinc coating on gabions can degrade, especially in marine environments, potentially releasing any lead present into the surrounding water. 3) Bioaccumulation in Oysters: Oysters are filter feeders and can accumulate heavy metals present in the water. If lead were to leach from the gabions, there's a potential for it to be absorbed by the oysters. The solution here is to use non-galvanized cages. (Arnell Milhouse)
A well-done and inspiring video Thank you for the care and hard work going into this project...
If the British can do it with the Thames River we can do it with NY harbor.
Might need to remove a good bit of sewage from the river beds.
I love humanity because I feel you
This is so awesome! I absolutely love this!!❤😊😮
That’s the coolest high school. Mine was known for the lowest state test scores and the most tumble-weaves from cat fights
I have my Amazon Smile donations set to the Billion Oyster Project
So basically every harbor, Bay, river. Lake should have native or oysters and clams to clean the water filter out extra nutrients and gunk.
The new reefs will bring good fishing for tautog etc. for NYC.
What a great project! And what a guy - imagine promising to come back and swim around underwater to count a billion oysters!
22:06 Breakwaters
What a beautiful project. I'm super excited by the concept of engineering with nature in mind. There is so much potential for improved health, cleaner air, more beautiful surroundings and a reversal of the planet-wide death and destruction we see around us. I'd be thrilled if NY could turn it's war on birds into some kind of combined clean air/bird conservation project combining trellised plants and rooftop gardens on buildings, planted in a way that collects bird droppings instead of them fouling buildings, which is the main complaint people have. I hate the anti-bird spikes, but noone needs poop dripping down buildings. I'd love to see more cities follow NY's example as well, finding ways to do this. Like the bats in Austin, wildlife can become a tourist attraction and become a symbol of your city, just like these oysters! ❤❤❤❤ Great video. Thanks!
“Until someone copies me” LMAO. Every time.
Established nature in its totality will open all hearts giving all power to the king
I AM!
Similar projects are being carried out in australia. Port Phillip bay Melbourne was covered in oysters pre colonisation. Oysters were considered food for the poor, so in the early days the poor fed on these. Eventually over harvesting, dredging and pollution resulted in the collapse of the bay ecosystem with the resultant loss of fish. Restaurants etc are now recycling their shells etc to help produce artificial reefs and recreate habitat. We’re seen cleaner water, more diverse fish, increased fish numbers which is great for recreational fishers and improved invertebrate numbers - a win win. Best wishes for ur project
Wow, this is so cool. Thanks for doing this. Makes me feel better about consuming only what's necessary, picking up trash, driving as little as possible, and trying to have behaviors that conserve. 😊
I love this vid
Such great content got only hundreds of likes. Where did all those like go?
Amazing project
The marshes need restored it will help the lessen effects of storms as well as well as increase biodiversity
2:42 yoooo that bridge is literally falling apart. 💀💀💀
I'm curious about the planning for the coexistence between the sea traffic in and out of NYC and if there is a significant return of whales and dolphins and other sea mammals?
What a great idea, I would like to see this project extended to the Great South Bay in LI
Thankyou 😊
updates please
They could take the wisdom of Greece nd Italy by sinking statues kept off museum.floors for habitats for fish as well as making the area more interesting to dive in.
This is a great project! I wish my country could do something similar as well instead of just building more traditional breakwaters to fight the rising sea levels.