Facebook is something people either seem to love or hate. Very few people are neutral about it. It can be a huge distraction, but used properly, it can be a very informative and engaging tool. Besides connecting with family and friends, more and more organizations and businesses are using facebook to reach out and spread messages. Its less technologically challenging than an RSS feed, and easy to set up and subscribe to. And yes, Friends of the Bay has a facebook page, so if you are on Facebook, become a fan!
One of the articles which was posted on my facebook page concerned a lecture given at the Museum of Modern Art. The museum held an exhibit called Rising Currents, which featured plans for dealing with the impacts of coastal sea level rise on New York City. As part of this exhibit, a lecture was given by Kate Orff. Kate is a landscape architect and Assistant Professor at Columbia University, and is a founder of a firm called SCAPE. Kate’s work at Columbia focuses on the integration of design disciplines and earth sciences.
Kate explained in her lecture that she is passionate about the how the geography of America has shaped history and the American character. She is attempting to blend the fields of urbanism and ecology to address sea level rise and climate change. In her efforts to do so she has found a “new hero in the global climate change war, and that is the eastern oyster…albeit a very small creature and very modest, this creature is incredible, because it can agglomerate into these mega-reef structures, it can grow, you can grow it, and did I mention its quite tasty.” (well, we knew that!). Kate used the oyster as a basis for a design project she calls oyster-tecture.
The crux of this very interesting idea is to utilize the power of oysters, eel grass and mussels to help combat sea level rise and cleanse even the infamous Gowanus Canal of pollution. At one time, oysters the size of dinner plates grew in the canal, so this is kind of a back to the future idea. Kate believes that by developing an oyster reef in the harbor, the islands that were in New Harbor at one time would be re-created and would help to serve as wave buffers. The oysters, of course, would provide water filtration and cleansing. Kate certainly gives a lot of credit to the role of oysters in New York’s history – stating that New York was built on the backs of oystermen, and the streets built on oyster shells.
She goes on to describe how artificial reefs might be built using ropes, and how possibly the reefs could even become a public space. Flupsys (floating upwelling systems) are a key part of her plans. These are the same flupsys that can be seen at The WaterFront Center, or lining the side of Mill Neck Creek by Frank M. Flower and Sons hatchery in Bayville. Oyster gardens are also part of her plans for the canal.
It’s a very interesting concept, and one that should be explored further. The full lecture can be seen from a link at the Friends of the Bay blog.
