Volunteers regularly help to try and keep the Bronx River clean through restoring oysters for ecological function.

The Bronx River Oyster Reef is in Soundview Park, and it’s where volunteers from the NY/NJ Baykeeper nonprofit go to study biodiversity.

They check on the oysters, which help prevent erosion of the shoreline and filter out the water, keeping it clean.

The volunteers walk out to the reef and pull up baskets to look at the oysters--seeing what different types of organisms are using the oysters for food and habitat.

Dr. Allison Fitzgerald leads the team and says the goal is to see if the ecosystem is getting stronger by adding more organisms to the water.

“We're seeing the oysters grow every summer,” Fitzgerald says.

Volunteers will continue to come back to Soundview Park throughout the summer to continue their work.