Billion Oyster Project
I was recently invited by Murray Fisher to attend an Oyster Garden Party at his house. There are many inspiring people I have met since I’ve moved to Bedford, but Murray and his Billion Oyster Project, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring New York’s oyster population, is one of the most interesting and successful ones I’ve had the pleasure of encountering.
Billion Oyster Project was founded in 2014 by Murray Fisher and Pete Malinowski, who shared a vision of a healthy, biodiverse New York Harbor. Both Fisher and Malinowski strongly believe that if people continue living, working, teaching and learning on this planet, they must fundamentally change how humans interact with nature. From this, the Billion Oyster Project was born and has since expanded on that idea — offering public school students, volunteers, community scientists and restaurants the opportunity to learn about New York City’s rich oyster history and lead the movement to restore it. The Billion Oyster Project works to clean up the waterways in New York City to help the species that live within it to thrive.
What started as a project of the Harbor School has grown into a city-wide initiative across the five boroughs. Murray and Pete have collaborated with thousands of individuals, such as 10,000 volunteers, 6,000+ students, 100 NYC schools, and 75 restaurant partners, all of different ages and backgrounds, and hundreds of sustainability-minded organizations. This is no small feat, showing how determined and passionate the Billion Oyster Project is. By 2035, they are striving to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor.
The Oyster Garden Party held a fabulous gathering filled with fresh foods, including 3 different types of oysters from different oyster farms in the Hamptons, as well as food and fish from local farmers. Local musicians played music in the background as people gathered around delicious food and great conversation centered around learning how to help our environment.
Murray Fisher and Pete Malinowski are two passionate individuals who have accomplished so much from installing 14 oyster reef sites across NYC to collecting 1.8 million pounds of recycled shells across New York Harbor with the help from NYC restaurants. It was a pleasure to join with others and learn about such an important cause happening right here in our area.
