Through a special collaboration, elementary school students throughout Lynbrook Public Schools have learned about the importance of the hidden shellfish that line New York’s shores.

Students at Marion Street, Waverly Park and West End elementary schools have taken a dive into the Billion Oyster Project, an environmental sustainability initiative that seeks to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor by 2035. Because oysters are filter feeders, they serve as a natural water filter with many beneficial effects for their surrounding ecosystem.

Elementary school Science Specialists have incorporated the Billion Oyster Project into their curriculum through lessons that relate to the project’s mission. During the fourth grade’s Structure and Function unit, for example, Science Specialists substituted the study of a fiddler crab with an oyster to think about the design of a hard outer body that protects a soft inner body.

Representatives from Nassau BOCES, in association with Cornell University’s Nassau Extension, have visited all fourth grade classes to present special assemblies. The assemblies provided an examining of real live oysters that students were able to see or interact with up close. They learned about the function of the oyster and their importance to New York State and the Hudson River, building an appreciation for just how the Billion Oyster Project will benefit so many in the future.

Date Added: 2/8/2023