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The Ocean Imagineer is a floating oyster farm and solar hydrogen production plant pilot art project.
- Renewable energy: use solar panels on the roof to produce green hydrogen on board, near consumption sites such as shipping ports and airports.
- Biodiversity: increase biodiversity with oysters and other marine organisms.
- Carbon Sequestration: oyster sequester carbon
- Water cleaning: oyster are effective filter feeders.
- IOT Sensors, Data and Blockchain compute node : The platform can collect environmental data, compute and serve as a wireless node.
Hong Kong North Point was once a popular place to swim for families.
But do not be mistaken: humans were not alone in this clean water. It is the abundant biodiversity that made the water clean. Oysters and other filtering animals kept Hong Kong water clean. If we ever want to swim in clean water again, we must bring back other species, and learn to live together with other species.
We are building a floating oyster hatchery and setting it up in North point. On the roof, solar panels will power the production of hydrogen, the cleanest fuel for the future.
The Ocean Imagineer attempts to address some important questions:
- Biology & Pollution: which species are the best to clean the water of North Point?
- Renewable Energy: How much solar and hydrogen power can we produce offshore in Hong Kong?
- Community: How can such infrastructure benefit the local community most?
- Blockchain: How can we enable the indigenous/local/traditional oyster farmers to create other sources of income (oyster, solar electricity, hydrogen, carbon sequestration).
“Rewilding is not about abandoning civilization but about enhancing it. It is to ‘love not man the less, but Nature more’.”
George Monbiot, “Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding”
"New research produced jointly by The Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS), Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), published recently in the scientific journal Restoration Ecology, shows the enormous potential of restoring lost oyster reefs, bringing significant environmental benefits. [...] A primary benefit that healthy oyster reefs contribute to coastal environments is their role as natural water purifiers: This new study found that, just 7 m2 of Hong Kong oyster reef can filter up to one Olympic swimming pool of water each day; a single Hong Kong oyster (Crassostrea Hongkongensis) can filter up to 30 liters of water per hour at summer temperatures, among the highest filtration rates recorded of any oyster species."
New research makes a strong case for restoring Hong Kong’s lost oyster reefs
Oysters are amazing! See how quickly oysters can clean the water!
Watch a great video that explains the magic that takes place on an oyster reef! In New York, the One Billion Oyster Project aims to add a billion oysters to clean New York waters.
Gallery
Videos
Our Relationships with Oysters in the Greater Bay Area in the Past, Present and Future
The relationship between humans, oysters and the natural environment is interdependent and complex. Oysters perform important ecological functions which further contribute to the health of humans and the rest of the environment, while providing food and other forms of resources which can be consumed by humans and generate economic revenue. These relationships are constantly evolving through time, what can we learn from the past as we imagine the future?
人類、蠔和大自然環境三者之間的關係是相互依存且複雜的。蠔扮演者舉足輕重的角色，有著重要的生態功能。其功能更能為人類與自然環境的其他成員的健康作出貢獻，並可同時成為他者的食物及可讓人類善用並同時創造收益的資源。在時間的推移下，這些不同的關係正不斷地演變中。在我們想像未來的同時，我們究竟能從過去學到些什麼呢？
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Credits
- Artist Researcher: Cesar Jung-Harada, Scoutbots
- Curation: Via North Point, Hong Kong Arts Centre
- Funding: The Urban Renewal Fund
- Production and Fabrication: MakerBay Foundation
- Grant: NEAR Foundation, thanks to Amber Initiative and SISU
- Design Research: Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Prof Gilles Garel, Prof Pierre Levy. Hong Kong Design Trust (for CoralBot on board). Thanks to Dr Etienne Gernez
- Biology: The Swire Institute of Marine Science, HKU (https://www.swims.hku.hk/), Prof Vengatesen Thiyagarajan (Rajan), Prof Bayden Russell, The Nature Conservancy, archiREEF, Lau Fau Shan oyster farming community, Hong Kong Aquaculture (Sai Kung)
- IoT, Environmental Sensor, Citizen Science: Safecast
- Blockchain: Amber Initiative, Oasis Labs
- Education & History Partner: Hong Kong Maritime Museum, MakerBay Foundation, The Looking Glass Factory
- Social & Environmental Impact: Synergy Social Ventures, Youth Ocean Alliance
- Artist Collaboration: Kay Wong, Tomorrow by Day Dream Nation
- Media: The Green Queen
- Inspiration #1: The International Ocean Station Network concept (former Open_Sailing)
- Inspiration #2 Biology: Oyster Hatchery "Floating Marine Laboratory" 2020-2021, ARCH7382A
- Inspiration #3 Architecture: "Floating Marine Laboratory" 2019-2020, ARCH7382A
- Special thanks to Aurianne Ricquier, Chicky Bhavnani, the MakerBay Team, Edric Nazareno, Erica Keung, Kumar Tvesha Sanjay, Ming Lau, Elaine Enzo, Cooby, Alex Clay, Laura Marques Leal, Albino Marques, Nishant Kidangan, Franklin Chow, Louis Destombe, Jacob Wilkinson, Charlie Pun, Mo Tse