Climate Change Resilience: Slowing Coastal Erosion

• In this video, students have the opportunity to learn about the Living Breakwaters project, which is an artificial oyster reef off the coast of Staten Island that helps to reduce coastal erosion and create habitat for some marine species. 

Positives

• The project could be replicated in many other areas to help protect coastlines and bolster marine ecosystems that are threatened by ocean acidification, pollution, and ocean warming.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be familiar with the concept of erosion.
• The video ends at 1 minute, 31 seconds.
  

Differentiation

• Science and biology students could research the many ways that human activities are affecting our oceans and coastlines.
• Social studies classes could use this video when discussing the need for cities all over the world to adapt to or retreat from coastlines experiencing sea level rise.
• Another recommended video from the American Museum of Natural History is Climate Change Resilience: Cooling an Urban Heat Island, which outlines an initiative to paint roofs white in New York City to reflect more sunlight and reduce temperatures.
• Students could also watch this 55-minute documentary called Sinking Cities: New York.