The Billion Oyster Project | EarthxNews | EarthX - video Dailymotion

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EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/   EarthxNews speaks to Brian Reagor of the Billion Oyster Project to learn about the plan to revive the New York harbor.   About EarthxNews:  A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.    EarthX  Love Our Planet.  The Official Network of Earth Day.    About Us:  At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.     EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.       EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/    Follow Us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxtv/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxtv  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthxtv      How to watch:   United States:   - Spectrum  - AT&T U-verse (1267)  - DIRECTV (267)  - Philo  - FuboTV  - Plex  - Fire TV   #EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #Eco-friendly #Conservation #EarthxTV #EarthX

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00:00Rebuilding our harbors, one oyster at a time.

00:05The Billion Oyster Project is making it their goal to restore oyster reefs in the New York Harbor.

00:11To date, they've returned 100 million oysters to the harbor

00:15and collected 2 million pounds of oyster shells with the help of 11,000 students and volunteers.

00:21Here with me to dive deeper into the benefits of this project

00:24is the Billion Oyster Project Director of Development, Brian Rager.

00:28Brian, thank you so much for coming on the show.

00:30First of all, can you explain to everyone what the Billion Oyster Project is?

00:35Sure, yeah, and thank you so much for having me today.

00:38As it says on the tin, on the front end is we are trying to put a billion oysters back

00:43into New York Harbor. So if you think about New York Harbor, it's helpful to think about

00:48it being too cold for coral reef, but the oysters were basically our coral reef.

00:53In fact, they're the coral reef of every ecosystem north of Virginia.

00:58So we are trying to put a billion back in the water because that is basically what

01:02it takes to recreate that original population.

01:05And then it'll bring all the other wildlife and biodiversity back with it.

01:09Fish and the crab and the dolphins and the seals and everything we think about

01:13in terms of abundant ocean biodiversity is what is started by the oyster itself.

01:19So that's the first thing that we're doing.

01:20And then the second thing is we're hoping to engage a million New Yorkers in this process.

01:25We do that by working in over 100 public schools around the city,

01:29offering free STEM education activities on the waterfront for, you know, hundreds of

01:33classrooms to come down, learn about the oyster, learn about its world and how their role in

01:40students, you know, day to day actions have a real impact on their environment around them.

01:44That's really cool. And I know that not only I read a little bit about it,

01:47not only will it improve the water ecosystem,

01:50but it's actually going to help our shorelines as well. Can you touch on that?

01:54Absolutely. So, you know, you touched on one thing that the oyster does,

01:57that, you know, an adult oyster at three years will clean 50 gallons of water a day.

02:02So a billion oysters is actually enough to clean the entirety of New York Harbor every three days.

02:07We've currently restored 136 million oysters to date, which is enough to clean

02:12basically the water body of the Chrysler building every single day. So they give you

02:18kind of a filtration impact. But more than that, you know, our shoreline used to be protected by

02:24these three-dimensional oyster reefs. Unlike scallops or clams that also filter the water,

02:28oysters actually grow on top of each other and create that three-dimensional reef structure.

02:34And studies have shown that oyster reefs in the wild reduce wave attenuation or wave force

02:39between 60 and 80 percent. So when you think about massive super storms kind of coming into

02:43New York Harbor, Superstorm Sandy is a great example, right? We had these massive waves

02:48battering the shoreline. Oyster reefs historically would have been providing that protection. And so

02:52that's what we're building for now is, you know, restoring shoreline through this kind of natural

02:57resilience layer. You guys are very popular. So popular that you even had a celebrity visitor,

03:03Prince William, came to look at what you guys are doing. That is so cool.

03:07You know, one of the cool things about what I get to do every day is just the amazing amount

03:12of public support we get. You know, everyone from, you know, school students to 80-year-olds

03:17that I meet at weddings have a general understanding of what we do. But Prince

03:21William was certainly one of the really most interesting experiences. You know,

03:26we really appreciated that the Kensington Palace and the prince himself remained interested,

03:31remained, you know, excited for this opportunity to come out. And, you know,

03:35we were absolutely honored to get two and a half hours and show him our work. He met with students,

03:39he met with our staff. He saw the oyster reefs up close and we hope that he left with a real

03:43understanding of what we're trying to do in New York City. What was his verdict? What did he

03:47think about what you all were doing? I think he liked it. You know, he got a hat on, which

03:53we heard was a pretty rare feat to get him dressed up in the gear. But, you know, I think the most

03:59meaningful factor was, you know, the next day he invited our executive director, Pete Malinowski,

04:05to attend the Earthshot Summit, which is, you know, the Prince's Foundation's keystone

04:11environmental kind of grant giving mission. But it's really just also a way to get kind of like

04:16the people who are in the philanthropic and corporate space to start thinking about some

04:20amazing solutions that are being grown by nonprofits and for profits around the world.

04:25And, you know, inviting us into that room. You know, I've been in a lot of rooms in New York

04:29City. I've been around a lot of people, but I was pretty blown away when I was standing next to

04:34a Bloomberg daughter and she couldn't get a seat. So that was a pretty cool room to be in.

04:39Well, Ryan Rager, thank you so much for coming on, for talking with us about your

04:42billion oyster project. It's awesome what you all are doing for the New York harbors.

04:46Thanks for coming out. And listen, we're on the water five days a week. So if you're ever

04:50in New York City, we'd love to take you out and show you an oyster.

04:53I would love that. Thank you for the invite.

04:55Yeah. Cheers, guys.

04:58And a few more details on what Brian was just talking about. Prince William visited New York

05:03for two days during Climate Week, a summit on climate action that takes place alongside

05:07the United Nations General Assembly. His first stop was to a pile of shells on Governor's Island

05:13donated by New York's finest dining establishments in solidarity with the billion oyster project.

05:19Now, after returning some oysters to the harbor, he met with the U.N. Secretary General and

05:24announced his finalists for the Earthshot Prize, an award by the climate-focused charity that he

05:30founded in 2020, which gives the winner a £1 million prize to continue their environmental

05:36work. The winner will be announced at the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Singapore on November 7th.

The Billion Oyster Project | EarthxNews | EarthX

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