Working on the Harbor School’s Billion Oyster Project to restore oysters in New York Harbor. Harbor School Photo
Don’t miss, “Take Back the Harbor” at 5 p.m. July 14 at the Movie Theater. The 39-minute documentary follows students from the Harbor School in New York City as they work in the harbor and travel to Fishers Island to learn about growing oysters as part of the Billion Oyster Project, an unprecedented program to restore once-bountiful oysters to New York Harbor.
Murray Fisher, who grew up summering on Fishers Island, founded the Harbor School in 2002 to teach waterway stewardship, along with a full high school curriculum. He and Pete Malinowski, whose family owns and runs Fishers Island Oyster Farm, started the Billion Oyster Project with the hope of restoring oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives.
“Oysters are good for New York Harbor, because they filter gallons and gallons of pollutants,” Fisher said. “Planting a billion oysters in the harbor by 2035 seems so big and so impossible, but we wanted to build a movement.”
Two award-winning filmmakers, Kristi Jacobson and Roger Ross Williams, captured the students, teachers and Billion Oyster team as they built reefs, monitored growth and performed marine bio research over the course of a year. Cameras were there to capture the dedication of these students as they marked victories and also faced setbacks in their journey to install the largest reef in New York City with 50,000 oysters in Jamaica Bay.
A Harbor School student, Nicholas, expressed thoughts that underline the goals and ultimate success of the Fisher/Malinowski program: “To me, the only way to have hope in restoring the harbor, and really the planet as a whole, is to make hope, Nothing is going to happen unless someone does it. And that someone might as well be me.”
Stay for reception and Q & A session following film.
“Take Back The Harbor” Screening July 14
NewsWorking on the Harbor School’s Billion Oyster Project to restore oysters in New York Harbor. Harbor School Photo
Don’t miss, “Take Back the Harbor” at 5 p.m. July 14 at the Movie Theater. The 39-minute documentary follows students from the Harbor School in New York City as they work in the harbor and travel to Fishers Island to learn about growing oysters as part of the Billion Oyster Project, an unprecedented program to restore once-bountiful oysters to New York Harbor.
Murray Fisher, who grew up summering on Fishers Island, founded the Harbor School in 2002 to teach waterway stewardship, along with a full high school curriculum. He and Pete Malinowski, whose family owns and runs Fishers Island Oyster Farm, started the Billion Oyster Project with the hope of restoring oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives.
“Oysters are good for New York Harbor, because they filter gallons and gallons of pollutants,” Fisher said. “Planting a billion oysters in the harbor by 2035 seems so big and so impossible, but we wanted to build a movement.”
Two award-winning filmmakers, Kristi Jacobson and Roger Ross Williams, captured the students, teachers and Billion Oyster team as they built reefs, monitored growth and performed marine bio research over the course of a year. Cameras were there to capture the dedication of these students as they marked victories and also faced setbacks in their journey to install the largest reef in New York City with 50,000 oysters in Jamaica Bay.
A Harbor School student, Nicholas, expressed thoughts that underline the goals and ultimate success of the Fisher/Malinowski program: “To me, the only way to have hope in restoring the harbor, and really the planet as a whole, is to make hope, Nothing is going to happen unless someone does it. And that someone might as well be me.”
Stay for reception and Q & A session following film.
“Sunset on the Beach” July 20
NewsThe Fishers Island Conservancy’s 2019 Sunset on the Beach will be held Saturday July 20th, from 6-8 pm on the Big Club Beach. Join us for a celebration of Fishers Island’s natural resources!
The Clearing Continues
NewsPictures do not do justice to the amazing transformation along South Beach Road approaching the Parcourse FitCircuit. Individual stops along the circuit are now visible, as is access to South Beach in the distance.
Crow’s Thievery
Field Notes, From the FieldA band of crows that regularly patrols both ends of Elizabeth Airport runway have discovered “easy pickins”, while mother Killdeer sounds the alarm circling around her clutch of eggs hidden inside tiny potholes of broken pavement.
From the Field, Field Note Justine Kibbe June 12, 2019
At a Snail’s Pace
Field Notes, From the FieldStanding Up to Phragmites
NewsPhragmites: A relentless enemy. The towering reeds grow an inch apart and are choking the Island’s tidal marshes, overtaking native vegetation and leaving no room for ducks, herons and egrets to land. FIConservancy plans to fight back, starting in November.
Alone No More!
Field Notes, From the Field, NewsI am so happy to have seen a spotted sandpiper pair south of the airport runway on Sanctuary of Sands. A lone sandpiper has arrived every spring since 2015, and now there are a pair of these exquisite shorebirds!
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
The spotted sandpiper occurs across North America. It has richly spotted breeding plumage, a teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats and showy courtship dances.
Female spotted sandpipers arrive at breeding grounds early to establish and defend territory. Females also may mate with four different males at a time, but it is the male that incubates the eggs and cares for the young.
From the Field, Field Note Justine Kibbe June 3, 2019
Protecting Killdeer Eggs
Field Notes, From the Field, NewsFIConservancy Naturalist Justine Kibbe reported: “As Fishers Island prepares for a very busy July and August, it’s wonderful to witness the rallying of community to protect our precious wildlife.”
Birth Announcement
Field Notes, From the Field, NewsCongratulations Fishers Island! The community is pleased to announce the arrival of four Piping Plover chicks in Sanctuary of Sands on the south side of the airport runway. Please continue to leash all dogs walking in the area.
Coast is Clear
Field Notes, From the FieldSafe under a leafy canopy, a baby Gray squirrel emerges from its comfy tree cavity to view its “big” new world: Fishers Island.
American Elm, Silver Eel Cove.
From the Field, Field Note, Justine Kibbe, May 29, 2019