partner feature: Billion Oyster Project
- Jul 7, 2025
- 2 min read
Happy summer!
Sea Songs
a concert/cabaret
is coming up on Tuesday, July 29th
at Saint John's in the Village in NYC.
Vira + Friends presents this performance
in partnership with Billion Oyster Project.
WHAT IS BILLION OYSTER PROJECT?
Billion Oyster Project (BOP) restores oyster reefs to New York Harbor.
A core crew of 50 individuals along with students and faculty of NY Harbor School
lead a massive network of volunteers, businesses, nonprofits
and local, state and federal regulatory agencies
in the effort to restore 1 billion oysters to New York Harbor by 2035.
WHY OYSTERS?
Oysters maintain healthy marine ecosystems.
An adult oyster can clean up to 50 gallons of water in 1 day.
Oyster reefs protect shorelines and provide homes for marine wildlife.
Oysters also provide sustenance for humans.
HOW DOES BOP WORK?
BOP grows spat (juvenile oysters) that attach to shells
collected from seafood restaurants in New York City.
BOP then builds structures to hold the shells with spat in the water
until the spat grow into adult oysters, forming a self sustaining reef.
BOP has 18 active restoration sites with 100 million oysters.
BOP engages in many other activities,
most importantly working with students in all 5 boroughs of NYC
to ensure the health of New York's waterways for generations to come.
HISTORY
In the 1600s there were 220,000 acres of oyster reefs in New York Harbor.
The wellbeing of the waters ebbed and flowed but by the early 1900s,
pollution and overharvesting devastated life under the surface.
Enactment of The Clean Water Act of 1972 led to improvements in water quality.
By 2000 marine life was able to survive in New York's waterways and
in 2014 Billion Oyster Project launched.
Join us for Sea Songs
to honor the work of Billion Oyster Project and
to celebrate life above, below and by the waves through music!
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