Sylvia A. Earle

We found one.

thousand of these creatures.

In the shadow of New York City, the Shinnecock Bay Hope Spot is a place where people and nature thrived for thousands of years.

But 20th century markets for seafood have

beyond the bay, upended the system.

More recently, the bay has been known for brown tides and the loss of seagrasses and oysters and clams that once filtered the water and fed people locally.

Dr. Ellen Pickett, a scientist at Stony Brook University, set out with her colleagues to do something about it.

And they figured it would take 53 million clams to restore health, to filter the water, eliminate those brown tides.

They've also calculated it would take 53 million dollars at a dollar per clam.

They didn't have $53 million, but they bought as many mom-and-dad clams as they could, and they planted them, but the clams do the rest.

Seagrasses began to grow again once the clams were back.

The water became clearer.

Creatures that live and need the seagrasses began to return.

And now we can see that the place is delivering on the promise of hope.

In French Polynesia, at the Totoro Hope Spot, Gertrude and Mary Bailey are pioneering science-based tourism with a conservation twist.

They have fiercely protected the sea turtle nests.

They've really taken the action to try to restore a place that was losing the wildlife that the ocean needs to have a secure planet.

And it's working.

Just a few years ago, there were only a very few turtles.

Now, there are hundreds with protection.