On Friday, January 29th, my group and I took the ferry all the way to Governor’s Island. We met with the Billion Oyster Project (BOP). The Billion Oyster Project is an organization that works with bringing oysters back to NYC. You may wonder, what is the importance of saving oysters? Sure they are delicious, but oysters play an essential role when it comes to protecting the environment. According to something I read, a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water in only 24 hours. This would mean that one billion oysters would be able to filter the Upper New York Bay once every three days. That’s incredible! New York City used to be known for its huge supply of scrumptious oysters, however, the issue of overconsumption tied in, and left us with not as many oysters. This motivated us to want to make a change. When oysters are newly born, the larvae need calcium. How do they get calcium? Jeremy had a brilliant solution that was a great way of reusing. BOP was able to collect the countless amount of oysters that were eaten at restaurants. After cleaning the shells, they are ground and given to the larvae. These shells provide enough calcium for the larvae to begin to build their own shell. Our job was to clean as many shells as possible and stack them. It was quite difficult and time-consuming, but a lot of fun! We shoveled and shoveled, rinsed, and stacked. I will be honest and say that afterward, I was exhausted. I was able to learn about our history, the importance of oysters, and how we can make a difference. I am eager to work with BOP again. This was an amazing experience.