*By Samantha Errico* During a visit to New York's Governors Island, filmmaker Kristi Jacobson was was inspired by a group of high school students who were restoring the harbor with an unlikely natural resource: oysters. So she set out to capture their efforts in a film, which eventually became "Take Back the Harbor," a documentary that chronicles the work of community volunteers, environmental specialists, and New York's Harbor School to preserve local waterways. According to Jacobson, she wanted to produce a film that explored "the role we played in destroying our planet, but more importantly, how we can work together to begin rebuilding and restoring," she told Cheddar. Along the way, she met Pete Malinowski, executive director of the Billion Oyster Project, an initiative that aims to "change the relationship New Yorkers have with the natural resources," Malinowski told Cheddar. He added that the New York Harbor School is the only public school in the United States that has an American Academy of Underwater Sciences certification program. Oysters have a stabilizing and restorative effect on waterways; one oyster alone can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, according to [Discovery](https://twitter.com/Discovery/status/1074733522655608832). "Take Back The Harbor" premiered Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. EST on Discovery.

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