From left, Deputy Borough President Ed Burke; Jordan, a 4th grade PS 59 student; Eric, a 5th grade PS 59 student; and Sebastian, a 5th grade PS 59 student. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A pair of oyster habitats part of a series of stations managed by Staten Island students through the Billion Oyster Project were defaced in St. George, killing the marine life that were meant to be studied as part of the multi-year effort.

Borough President Vito Fossella and Ed Burke, senior vice president to the borough president, visited the site, located next to Pier 1, alongside students and faculty from PS 59, the Harbor View School, to view the damage and explore ways to avoid future issues at the site.

A total of eight habitats are suspended at the location, but the two damaged cages — which were found by a nearby resident — were projects created by students at the New Brighton school.

“It’s a shame that somebody decided to vandalize, but we’re going to try to stop that from happening,” Fossella told students at the site Monday. “We’re going to be putting signage here. Maybe people are oblivious, but they shouldn’t do it.”

One of the damaged oyster cages. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

Oyster shells were seen damaged at the site. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

A trio of students, Eric, Jordan and Sebastian, arrived to the site and noticed the cages — which were pulled up from the water and brought over a railing from a rope that extended the habitats into the water below — were mangled while the oysters that were once inside the cage were smashed on the ground.

It is unclear when the damage occurred or who defaced the projects.

In an effort to deter further vandalism, new material courtesy of the Billion Oyster Project is expected to be placed near the waterfront that indicates the cages are part of ongoing student science projects.

“Billion Oyster Project’s hands-on work with students is critical in reconnecting a generation of New Yorkers with their local waterfront,” said Pete Malinowski, executive director at Billion Oyster Project. “We are disappointed when we discover that student science experiments — like the cages at the National Lighthouse Museum — are mishandled.”

Borough President Vito Fossella bringing up an oyster habitat. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

The Billion Oyster Project has introduced more than 100 million oysters into the New York Harbor, increasing biodiversity and cleaning the water through the process of algae removal. Just one oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day.

Oysters are also resilient — able to survive in a range of conditions from saltier waters near southern Staten Island to much fresher water north of the borough — making them especially important.

Prior to the pandemic, 15 Staten Island schools were involved in the Billion Oyster Project, monitoring stations from the North to South shores. The effort returned in full-force this year as in-person classes resumed, bringing the vaunted environmental work back to classrooms around the Island.

Part of the projects, which involves students going out to locations like the one in St. George, encompasses students and their teachers pulling up oyster habitats and measuring shells to monitor growth — one of the multi-faceted portions of the program that provides real-world applications to in-class work.

“Local students and teachers pull up these cages and discover mud crabs, grass shrimp, blackfish, and lined seahorses,” said Malinowski. “Our staff works hard every day to help New Yorkers realize how revived oysters reefs could transform the future of our Harbor. We appreciate the people, schools, and elected officials of Staten Island who have always supported our work.”

Deputy Borough President Ed Burke hoisting up an oyster habitat. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

Eric, a fifth-grader at PS 59, said his experience in the project helped expand his knowledge of the importance of oysters. He explained that more oysters in New York Harbor would lead to cleaner water and encourage stronger biodiversity.

“I like how they’re trying to un-pollute the waters,” said Sebastian, a fifth-grade student at PS 59, when talking about the oyster’s role in New York City. “Dolphins, whales and sharks have been coming back.”

Jordan, who is in fourth grade at PS 59, marveled at the marine life in intact cages as they were pulled from the water Monday and pointed out the different crabs and fish that were brought from the depths.

Kelly Mattarelliano, a teacher at PS 59, touted the vital need for children to be exposed to marine-based ecology and jobs that they can pursue later in life. “It’s amazing,” she said of the Billion Oyster Project.

More than 8,000 students and 11,000 volunteers have been engaged in the effort, according to the Billion Oyster Project, while two million pounds of shell from city restaurants have been reused to establish oyster reefs.

Nirmila Nanes — an assistant principal of science at Port Richmond High School, one of the schools involved in the Billion Oyster Project — said the program gives students the opportunity to take part in “a perfect confluence of citizen science and environmental stewardship.”

“We value this project as one of the places where our kids can not just learn about science but actually do science,” said Nanes.

Port Richmond High School students at the St. George monitoring station. (Photo courtesy of Staten Island Borough Hall)

Hamin Hasweh, principal of PS 59, said the work with the Billion Oyster Project is at the center of The Harbor View School’s mission.

While discovering the projects have been damaged was “really sad to hear,” she added, “I wanted to make sure that our students are always solution-oriented and are part of what’s happening in the community.”

“So it was really important for us to have our students come out and be part of the solution and share their information,” said Hasweh.

“We’re just really excited to continue to work within the community to make sure that the Billion Oyster Project not only flourishes in District 31, but also is extended as they get into middle school and high school.”

Some of these oysters may be used in such vaunted projects at The Living Breakwaters, now under construction off the shore of Tottenville.

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