The New York Harbor SEALs Civic Science Program is a NYC public school initiative that puts students to work on one problem that is already here and accelerating: extreme weather is reshaping shoreline conditions, water quality, and habitat stability in New York Harbor. Harbor SEALs students play a distinctive role in restoration by doing authentic scientific research and service learning, not one-off “exposure” activities. With 40+ high school volunteers and interns, students run student-managed fieldwork and lab work, teamwork, public outreach, marine resource management, and disciplined data management—the operational skills that make climate adaptation work succeed in the real world.
Our work is built for climate resilience and adaptation because restoration decisions are only as good as the data underneath them. Students measure core physical and chemical parameters—temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity (and related indicators)—to assess whether conditions are suitable for oyster and harbor seal survival, growth, and broader habitat function. Those measurements become decision-useful evidence that supports climate resilience planning, adaptive management, and habitat restoration.
We focus on Governors Island and Lower Manhattan because this corridor is an ecological chokepoint: over four miles of shoreline exposed to intense tidal exchange and some of the densest urban pressures in the city. In wet weather, combined sewer overflows discharge stormwater mixed with untreated sewage into surrounding waters—exactly the kind of stressor that spikes during heavy rainfall and undermines long-term restoration gains. New York City’s combined sewer system includes hundreds of CSO outfalls that collectively discharge billions of gallons annually, meaning the water quality story in this corridor is inseparable from extreme weather.
Since 2011, Harbor SEALs students have generated crucial water-quality datasets and removed and catalogued more than 700 kilograms of debris from New York Harbor, including 450 kilograms collected this year alone. Students document debris composition, map accumulation hotspots, and analyze patterns related to tidal flow and storm events—turning cleanup into localized intelligence that directly informs restoration and mitigation strategy.
This proposal is designed to align tightly with Con Edison’s Strategic Partnerships focus on Extreme Weather Adaptation and Mitigation, especially the emphasis on nature-based solutions and protecting vital waterways and wetlands as climate challenges intensify. Harbor SEALs strengthens the resilience of ecosystems and communities by producing the field data needed to target and evaluate blue-green infrastructure: oyster reef restoration, living shoreline work, wetland protection, and the water-quality improvements these projects are expected to support. In other words, we help ensure that nature-based resilience investments are deployed where they will work—and measured in a way that allows continuous improvement.
In the coming year, we will expand this work through three major initiatives:
01) Incorporating artificial intelligence into the workflow.
AI will be used for faster QA/QC, anomaly detection, pattern recognition, and reporting. The point is not novelty—it’s operational speed and reliability. After major rain events, we need to identify changes in water quality, distinguish signal from noise, and communicate actionable findings to partners and the public.
02) Extending comprehensive microplastics, eDNA, & water quality monitoring.
Students will collect and analyze eDNA & microplastics concentrations alongside physical and chemical data across the Governors Island and Lower Manhattan shorelines. This adds a critical resilience lens: eDNA is an emerging technology that quickly assays biodiversity levels in water bodies & microplastics are both a contamination indicator and a chronic stressor that interacts with storm-driven runoff and debris transport.
03) Expanding our long-term monitoring by returning to older stations with professional-grade equipment.
We will reoccupy legacy stations and strengthen comparability over time. Professional instrumentation improves data confidence, strengthens trend detection, and makes the dataset more usable for restoration partners who need defensible evidence.
04) Expand out solar panel array. We plan to add backup power to our recirculating aquaculture systems using solar renewable technology. As AI become more prevalent in the workforce, training students to build, deploy, and maintain solar power is a critical skill multiplier.
Across these initiatives, students will collect real-time physical and chemical data—including nutrients, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and other key indicators—and use AI-supported analysis to identify how storm-driven runoff and pollution alter harbor conditions. The deliverable is practical: clearer hotspot maps, faster post-storm interpretation, and stronger evidence for targeted mitigation that improves ecosystem health.
While our core focus is ecological restoration and environmental monitoring, Harbor SEALs is also intentionally structured for equitable climate resilience. We provide stipends for students in leadership roles who keep the workflow functioning—sampling leads, data managers, lab leads, and public outreach leads—so participation is not limited to students who can afford unpaid time. This aligns with Con Edison’s commitment to resilience that is equitable and community-based, and it strengthens local capacity to respond to climate impacts through trained youth leadership.
This work builds on support and collaboration from Con Edison and a strong network of partners, including the Billion Oyster Project, Hudson River Foundation, SUNY Stony Brook, Earth Matter, Bronx Community College, NYU Gallatin, Governors Island Trust, Riverkeeper, Future River, Here On Earth World, Wanderers Club, and Jenny Marketou. These partnerships allow Harbor SEALs to function as a stable platform: long-term monitoring, sustained student leadership development, and ongoing public-facing stewardship in a high-impact corridor.
Harbor SEALs is local by design and global by implication. Students have participated in international research trips to India and the Caribbean (including Cuba with the Wanderers Club) to monitor marine debris and water quality, but the purpose of this proposal is clear: strengthen New York City’s climate resilience where pressure is highest and where nature-based solutions can deliver measurable benefits—if we monitor, learn, and adapt fast enough.
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