Hands-on program that allows teachers and students to visit the harbor and pull up a small oyster cage for data collection and exploration.
An Oyster Research Station (ORS) is a small, fixed underwater laboratory designed by Billion Oyster Project to monitor oyster growth and biodiversity in New York Harbor. Each ORS measures 8” x 8” x 18” and is secured to a dock, bulkhead, or floating buoy at a permitted location along the harbor. On average, an ORS can hold 50 - 200 oysters along with the local marine organisms that naturally settle and thrive among them.
The Oyster Research Station program is one of Billion Oyster Project’s flagship educational initiatives to engage students, teachers, schools, and volunteers in hands-on marine ecology data collection, and restoration science. Participants monitor their oyster research stations to study oyster growth and species diversity and contribute data that helps inform our impact.
Oyster Research Stations are only available to teachers and volunteers trained by Billion Oyster Project.
Our ORS Training equips teachers with the skills and confidence to bring their students outside the classroom and use one of our ORSs as a tool for inquiry-based learning. These outdoor experiences are accompanied by standards-aligned curriculum written specifically for the ORS.
In the ORS Training teachers can expect to:
Fees & Registration: The $200 flat fee covers training, monitoring supplies, a permitted waterfront site, and oysters. FREE for all Title 1 schools — inquire about the discount code.
Cancellations: Please contact us at educate@billionoysterproject.org, with as much notice as possible, if you need to cancel your ticket or reservation. We will make every effort to issue a refund to paying customers who cancel more than 24 hours before the training. No-shows will not receive a refund.
Forms, protocols, and guides for this program — everything you need before, during, and after your training.
MAP SLOT — paste the existing Restoration reef-map component here (it stays untouched). This gray box is only a placeholder.
Every Billion Oyster Project Oyster Research Station, with the latest monitoring data submitted by trained teachers and volunteers. A green dot means data arrived within the last 90 days.
This table shows the current condition of every Billion Oyster Project Oyster Research Station across New York City. It also lets you know if monitoring data has been submitted within the last 90 days.
Green rows show historical information about an ORS including broodstock source and set dates.
White rows under the green rows show the most recent monitoring submissions for an ORS, including current cage conditions, oyster data and biodiversity observations.
Additional oysters may be requested for Oyster Research Stations that are without any oysters. New oysters should not be added to existing oysters in an ORS. You can request a new stock of oysters through the ORS Oyster Stock Request Form.
Due to permitting regulations we are unable to place live oysters outside of New York City. If you are on Long Island, we recommend that you take a look at some Long Island oyster projects, such as SPAT from the Cornell Cooperative. Please see here for other oyster restoration projects around the East Coast that could be a good fit for you.
A thriving reef cluster, building habitat for generations
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