Miles O’Brien:
Think “New York” - you’re thinking this, right?
But this is New York, too.
These city kids from Brooklyn
are getting their feet wet,
and not just
because it’s raining.
Teacher:
Everybody say “meteorological!
Students:  Meteorological!
Miles O’Brien: They’re on a field trip
to New York Harbor --
 
getting down and dirty with oysters
.
We decided that
we wanted to help students
get to the water's ed,
conduct research,
and ultimately become
citizen scientists themselves.
Teacher:
So this is protocol 4,
and protocol 4 is all about what
? Miles O’Brien:
With support from
the National Science Foundation,
Pace University educator Lauren Birney
and her team are getting
middle school kids involved
in an ambitious restoration program
called the “Billion Oyster Project.”
Murray Fisher:
And so New York Harbor
used to be one of
the most productive estuaries
on the entire planet,
more biomass produced
in this estuary
than anywhere else
in the entire North Atlantic.
Now it’s sitting at around 1%
of its historic abundance.
Miles O’Brien:
Murray fisher co-founded the project.
Now he’s partnering with Birney
to broaden its reach,
getting more kids like these
into the field learning
oyster bed restoration
and exploring science first hand.
Teacher: 
Guys, this is an Oyster toadfish
Murray Fisher:
What we’ve found is that
if you want to restore
New York Harbor,
the way to do it is you have
to restore the oyster ecosystem.
Maciel Rosario: 
Which is really important
because they’re filter feeders
and they clean our water
and the environment basically.
Michael Seymour:
We do physical measurements
of the oysters
Miles O’Brien:
Middle school teacher Michael
Seymour is all for it.
Michael Seymour:
This active education
and active instruction--this
is kind of the best
you can get where
you’re physically measuring things
and actively contributing
to a database
that’s for the greater
popular good, really.
That’s math.
That’s math and science
and technology and engineering,
not just taught but lived.
Miles O’Brien:
And kids are catching on.
Irene Rahman:
I used to, like, hate nature
because I thought
the grass was disgusting
and when you step on it all the mud
gets on your pants
and everything.
What changed in my heart
was that when I saw oysters,
when I saw them helping us,
when I learned
about them--I heard
that millions of them die every day
so we need them in the water
for it to be clean.
Cloe Ingram: 
We’re learned how to do,
like, a lot of stuff
including water quality.
Like, Ph, dissolved oxygen, ammonia.
Teacher:
Students should be assigned…
Miles O’Brien:
There's a website designed
to connect kids and their work,
and the New York
Aquarium is onboard too.
Jon Forrest Dohlin:
A metro area of 20 million people
living cheek and jowl
with an ocean wilderness
is a mind-boggling concept
and that’s what the New York
Aquarium is engaged
in telling people about.
That’s what the Billion
Oyster Project
is engaged in telling people about.
Right? And so why
shouldn’t we work together?
Miles O’Brien:
And Birney plans to expand
the program beyond New York.
Lauren Birney:
The idea is to allow kids
to communicate in real time
but then allow for others
in other places to say,
‘hey, what's going on
in New York Harbor?
Let me see what these kids
are doing over in Australia.’
so, we’re creating this smart
and connected community here
in New York City,
but then allowing
that to be able
to grow into other communities.
Miles O’Brien:
Using oysters to teach kids
how to preserve
the natural treasures
in their own back yards.
Now there’s a pearl
of wisdom for you.
For Science Nation
I'm Miles O'Brien.
