Most people know oysters can make a delicious meal. But they carry purpose beyond getting put on a plate; these little sea creatures will bring huge environmental benefits to a Warwick beach area that experienced closures last year.

On Thursday, 27,000 oysters were planted off Oakland Beach this as part of the Greenwich Bay Oyster Seeding Project. And there are still more – eventually, half a million of them will be purchased and planted.

The project brought together volunteers from Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association, Roger Williams University, and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Fish and Wildlife Division. The oysters were planted for purposes of water filtration and eventual harvesting by recreational and commercial shellfishers.

“What was particularly impressive to me was that one of these little oysters is able to filter about 50 gallons of water a day as it grows,” said Warwick Sewer Authority Executive Director Janine Burke-Wells. “So if you do the math, assuming a 100 percent survival rate, this project will result in the filtering of 25 million gallons of water a day. That’s five times what we treat at the Warwick Sewer Authority.”

The New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) helped to make the project possible - The Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association received the $2,500 Humanitarian Assistance Grant from the NEWEA. That grant was matched by the Warwick Sewer Authority, handing over a total of $5,000 for an effort to bring back oysters to the bay.

"I'm extremely pleased of the hard work and dedication that has gone into the preservation of Narragansett Bay," said Mayor Scott Avedisian. "The WSA staff's commitment to our community and to our waters is truly admirable. This latest achievement highlights WSA's triumphs in education and the promotion of clean water initiatives, as well as their vested interest in our partners."

Nine applications for NEWEA’s grant were submitted, but RISA received the grant as it “best represents NEWEA’s mission to preserve and protect the water environment of New England” said NEWEA President Ray Willis.

Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association president Michael McGiveney was glad to receive the grant as the project will help bring back “diversity” for the state’s shellfishermen. He was pleasantly surprised that the Association had beaten the competition.

“It’s nice to know we beat out eight other grants,” he said. “That was a wonderful gift and we’re very appreciative of the support for this project.”

McGiveney also thanked the Brewer Marina, saying they allowed the project to happen at their facility at no cost. The oysters were grown from spat in upwellers at the marina.

City Council President Donna Travis was happy about the project as well – she said she comes from a family of shellfishermen and has spent 60 years of her life in Oakland Beach.

“For them to come together with this project, we have the future now that those oysters will come back to life,” she said. “So many years we’ve seen the clams completely die. This will be a great start.”

That Thursday afternoon, two Shellfisherman’s Association members took the crowd out into the bay to bring the oysters to their new home. Travis and NEWEA Executive Director Mary Barry jokingly complained about having to go back to work after planting – it was far too nice a day out to be in an office, and they wanted to stay on the boat.

After a short ride away from the Brewer Marina and into the bay, it was time to plant. Doing so was easy – the oysters just needed to be tossed into the water in a scattered manner. Everyone took turns planting, putting on gloves and scooping handfuls of the young shellfish out of a large bucket to dump into the water.

Some oysters didn’t quite make it out of the boat on the first try. The floor of the boat was littered with shells and Barry even found that a couple landed in her backpack, but by the end of the day, all of them made it into the bay where they belonged.