The New York port has been polluted to such a grave extent of the years that it has rendered the water inhabitable marine life. It would be news to many that oysters have the unique capacity of naturally purifying water.

The billion oysters project was started in 2014 by an NGO to clean up the dirty New York Harbour with the help of oysters. They have been working tirelessly for years to rebuild the oyster reefs along the shoreline and in deep waters. They have put back close to 30 million oysters which though is not anywhere close to what used to be, has brought a lot of changes to the ecosystem.

The project has support from various groups including local restaurants and students. The restaurants collect the oyster shells instead discarding them. These oyster shells are taken to the Governors island where they are left to dry for almost a year to naturally cleanse them form any organic matter. The shells are later sent to the Harbour public school that is extremely involved in the project.

The billion oyster projects received funding from various organisations. With active involvement of the local community the project continues to move forward to achieve their target of putting a billion oysters and clean up the waters that have been polluted. We wish them all the best for their success.