On a light overcast day this past Tuesday, middle school students from Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School in Crown Heights Brooklyn participated in educational and restoration efforts alongside the Billion Oyster Project, a non-profit organization whose goal is to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives.
Founded in 2014, the Billion Oyster Project aims to bring back one billion oysters with the help of one million students, volunteers and partners.
Launch students excitedly made their way down to the Project's Williamsburg Station field to engage in experiential learning about the role of oysters while applying applying STEM skills. The day’s activities included pulling up an oyster installation, learning about the basics of oyster biology, as well as identifying the other species that live in and among the oysters.
“One of the values of experiential learning is broadening the kids’ mindset,” said Tiffany Thompson, a seventh-grade math teacher at Launch. “A lot of times the classroom doesn’t necessarily open the kids up to endless possibilities, and I think experience will allow the kids to see what else is out there.”
In 2026, Launch and Billion Oyster Project are set to collaborate for the opening of a seven-acre experiential learning campus at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Floyd, alongside Jamaica Bay.
