On Thursday night I wound my way through Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. Past industrial buildings, natural gas smoke stacks, and heavy machinery, I found myself at building 269 to celebrate a sustainability milestone in our city.
For 10 years, Billion Oyster Project has used the nature-based solution of oyster restoration to clean the water of the Hudson River to a level unprecedented in the last century. Restored oyster reefs will also protect the coastline from storm surges, a threat the city faces from climate change. To commemorate all their work, and look toward the future, 2,000 guests gathered together this week to sample trays of freshly harvested oysters, enjoy small bites and drinks from over 20 of New York’s best restaurants, and celebrate the efforts of oyster over 50 oyster farmers from all over the country at the organization’s 10th Anniversary Billion Oyster Party — Back to Nature, Back to Health.
New York City used to be the oyster capital of the world, home to half of the world’s oysters. When the Dutch arrived in the 1600s, New York Harbor’s oysters measured up to 10 inches long, the city was known for them, and the oyster industry helped lay the foundation for the city. Liberty and Ellis Islands where the Statue of Liberty now stands and where millions of immigrants landed to begin new lives here were originally known as Oester (Oyster) Islands. New York’s oyster industry ended due to overharvesting, water pollution, and shoreline build-outs from the city’s rapid expansion. The pollution of the river prompted a typhoid scare, and the city shut down oyster farming in 1927.
The book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky tells the fascinating history of New York’s oysters. The Billion Oyster Project is creating its future. The city’s 220,000 acres of oyster reefs were once homes to whales, dolphins, seals, seahorses, herring, striped bass, and hundreds of other species. Thanks to Billion Oyster Project, they’re on their way to being this home again. Today, the organization has 18 active oyster restoration sites across 16 acres of New York Harbor. Their efforts have restored 100 million juvenile oysters to the harbor. Oysters are starting to reproduce in the Harbor — a clear sign that this once booming industry can be revived and be self-sustaining. Billion Oyster Project’s goal for the next 10 years is to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor by 2035.
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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Christa Avampato 