Roger Ross Williams, Kristi Jacobson Team for Discovery Doc ‘Billion Oyster Project’ (Exclusive)

Roger Ross Williams and Kristi Jacobson are heading to Governor’s Island.

Discovery Channel is in production with the two filmmakers on Billion Oyster Project, a documentary chronicling the work of a group of young environmentalists in New York City. Produced by Julie Goldman, the film will premiere on Discovery in 2018 under the Discovery Impact banner.

On New York’s Governor’s Island, an unprecedented program has an ambitious goal: to restore the once-bountiful oysters and the environmental benefits they bring to New York Harbor. The foot soldiers of this environmental movement are an unlikely group: high school students at a public school that teaches stewardship of the waterways alongside math and English. With their inspiring teachers, they work to turn the tide on decades of neglect and bring back the health of New York City waterways.

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“When I heard that there is a major project underway to restore a billion oysters to New York’s waters in an effort to clean them up, I was intrigued,” said John Hoffman, evp documentaries and specials, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel. “When I learned about the innovative teachers and dedicated students of the New York Harbor School who are doing that work, I knew it was a story for Discovery Impact.”

“This film is both a poem to New York’s Harbor and an inspiring call to action,” say co-directors Williams and Jacobson. “The commitment of these kids and the grit and persistence of the program’s leaders have surprised and inspired us at every turn; as filmmakers we are humbled to watch these kids mature into tomorrow’s conservationists before our eyes.”