Press & Media

Feel free to download our press kit on the link below. Please contact us if you want to make use of the provided content and make sure to credit Oyster Heaven.

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About Oyster Heaven

English version

The Rotterdam startup and nature conservation organization Oyster Heaven – founded in 2021 by George Birch – is a regeneration first organization whose central mission is to regenerate oyster reefs on a large scale. Birch obtained his MBA from Erasmus in Rotterdam and has worked at Blue Marine Foundation and Janus Henderson, among others. Oyster Heaven’s vision is a society where people can continue to live comfortably by helping the environment and vital industries, such as housing and food suppliers, continue to exist in the future. The company is supported by Blue Oyster Environmental, DTU Aqua, Newcastle University, Mantis Consulting, Metabolic, Rewilding Britain, Stichting Zeeschelp, WWF, and a scientific advisory board.

Dutch version

De Rotterdamse startup en natuurbeschermingsorganisatie Oyster Heaven – opgericht door George Birch in 2021 – is een regeneration first organisatie die op grote schaal oesterriffen wil herstellen. Birch behaalde zijn MBA aan het Rotterdamse Erasmus en was onder andere werkzaam bij Blue Marine Foundation en Janus Henderson. De visie van Oyster Heaven is een samenleving waarin mensen comfortabel kunnen blijven leven door het milieu te helpen en vitale industrieën, zoals huisvesting en voedselleveranciers, in de toekomst kunnen blijven bestaan. Het bedrijf wordt ondersteund door Blue Oyster Environmental, DTU Aqua, Newcastle University, Mantis Consulting, Metabolic, Rewilding Britain, Stichting Zeeschelp, WWF en een wetenschappelijke adviesraad.

Awards

Neptune Award – Ocean Exchange Competition

Ocean Exchange hosts this event to recognize and help advance innovation in technologies aimed at the health of our oceans and the Blue Economy.

Oyster Heaven Won the $100,000 USD Neptune Award, given to solutions that advance our understanding of the ocean and help minimize our impact on these resources, even while using them for human benefit, resulting in more resilient bodies of water.

Zeeland In Stroomversnelling

As part of the Zeeland in Stroomversnelling subsidy from the Province of Zeeland, Oyster Heaven submitted a proposal last year for a demonstration project. This program funds projects that innovatively strengthen Zeeland’s sectors. In partnership with Stichting Zeeschelp, HZ University of Applied Sciences, and Palinghandel Van de Kreeke, Oyster Heaven proposed a project to develop an oyster reef in the Veere Meer. The project’s goal is to create the ‘Mother Reef’ substrate, enabling natural oyster restoration in Zeeland and providing ecological and economic benefits (fishing and aquaculture).

We are pleased to have been awarded a subsidy of €199,040 to develop the project and assess its impact on oyster populations in Zeeland.

CrQlr Awards

Oyster Heaven received two prizes from the crQlr Awards 2023 in Tokyo and Barcelona:

Earthwide Restoration Prize

“The project’s impact extends beyond environmental rejuvenation. It plays a pivotal role in supporting coastal communities and fishermen, who are integral to its implementation. By involving these communities in planting and monitoring the reefs, the project not only provides new jobs but also contributes to preserving traditional livelihoods. This approach fosters a deep connection between people and their marine environment, encouraging stewardship and sustainable practices.” – Judge Hiroshi Irie

The Ocean Restoration Award

By creating a new, biodegradable artificial reef substrate, “The Mother Reef” offers a scalable and cost-effective solution for oyster reef regeneration. Its design, leveraging widely available materials like clay, is both innovative and practical, enabling large-scale restoration efforts.
The project’s impact extends beyond environmental rejuvenation. It plays a pivotal role in supporting coastal communities and fishermen, who are integral to its implementation. By involving these communities in planting and monitoring the reefs, the project not only provides new jobs but also contributes to preserving traditional livelihoods. This approach fosters a deep connection between people and their marine environment, encouraging stewardship and sustainable practices. – Judge David Tena Vicente

CFP Green Buildings Innovation Day

Oyster Heaven was one of the winners of the CFP Innovation Day in Q3 2023, giving the company the opportunity to participate in the 17th edition of the annual Green Buildings Event that “accelerates the energy transition, boosts radical innovations and really gets moving”.

Deltares SME Challenge 2023

Deltares SME Challenge offers 80 hours of free access to the Hydro and Geo facilities and laboratories to test design concepts of innovations, valued in 80.000€. Oyster Heaven won this award in Q3 2023 to test the impact of oyster filter feeding on the seawater quality, with the possibility of using this technique to further clean effluent from sewage treatment, discharged in the sea.

Palladium Challenge Fund

Oyster Heaven received funding through Palladium’s Challenge Fund in 2021, which asked organisations to offer creative solutions to make protecting nature a more valuable economic pursuit than its destruction. The funding supported Oyster Heaven in the implementation of a biofilm study to demonstrate that a functional and thriving ecosystem can be established in areas where significant degradation has occurred.

Press Releases

News articles

Purina Europe launches its first Ocean Restoration Programme, aiming to restore 1,500 hectares of marine habitats by 2030

28 February 2024, ROTTERDAM: The ocean is essential for all life on Earth. However, as a result of climate change and human activities, ocean health is declining at an alarming rate, putting all marine life under threat. To ensure a sustainable future, our oceans must be protected and preserved. That is why Nestlé Purina PetCare Europe is launching its first Ocean Restoration Programme, to help tackle marine biodiversity loss in Europe.

Oyster Heaven raises €800,000 in funding from Orange Wings Investments

Oyster Heaven creates the first scalable solution to regenerate lost oyster reefs and raises €800,000 from Orange Wings Investments