Adam Steckley
4th Annual World Ocean Celebration
4th Annual World Ocean Celebration
Adam Steckley
Ocean Art Workshops
Ocean Art Workshops
Adam Steckley
Biscayne Immersion
Biscayne Immersion
Adam Steckley
That's A Wrap
That's A Wrap
Adam Steckley
Give Miami Day Appreciation
Give Miami Day Appreciation

3rd Anniversary Soirée

In concert with the World Ocean Weekend Celebration, Blue Scholars celebrated its 3rd anniversary on Saturday, June 11th with a dinner party, silent auction and the first night of the International Ocean Film Festival (IOFF). Attendees learned about the evolution of Blue Scholars through the pandemic and were treated to a few Ocean Hero PSA’s created by Blue Scholars’ students. IOFF Director, Ana Blanco, introduced the series of films and led a Q&A during intermission with Veins of an Island film director, Dr. Shireen Rahimi.

 
 

Thank You

We are proud to have the W South Beach serve as our Presenting Sponsor.

Anniversary Sponsors: Algorand, Coastal Building Maintenance, Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. and Sanar Naturals

Media Sponsors & Photographers: Jetset Creative and Jordan Braun

Beverage Sponsors: Sipsmith and Biscayne Bay Brewing

Auction Donors: The Harmony Hotel, Jamie Eroncig Jones, W South Beach, The Gerrard Family, The Brown Family, Gio Balance, Biscayne National Park Institute, Beatriz Chachamovits, The Steckley Family, The Block Family, Spa E, Full Circle Coaching, LIK Fine Art, Complex Health & Wellness, Tanya Kristina Photography, Austin Kane Matheson, Maria Alvarez Yoga, Meredith Bass, Hirni’s Wayside Garden, Ready-to-Grow Gardens, Casa Vinyasa, Stream2Sea and Waterlust

#MiamiTech Park & Bay Cleanup + Family Fun

Photos courtesy of Chantal Lawrie

It was a glorious South Florida Sunday last weekend for our first community event of 2022. Presented by Algorand, and in partnership with eMerge Americas & Miami Tech Life, the #MiamiTech Park & Bay Cleanup brought together volunteers and family members who successfully removed 460 pounds of trash from Kennedy Park and the mangrove shoreline. In addition to the cleanup, approximately 150 participants, including City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, enjoyed pilates, art, water testing, oyster gardening, music, food and the simple pleasures of a day at the park. We’re grateful to everyone who attended and are especially thankful for our AWESOME partners who led the various activities.

Waterfront Pilates by Pilates for the People

 

Park & Bay Cleanup by SENDIT4THESEA

 

Land Art Sculpturing by Miami Children’s Museum

 

Water Quality Testing by Miami Waterkeeper and EarthEcho International

 

Vertical Oyster Gardening by Watershed Action Lab

FIKARI Art Supports Blue Scholars

Blue Scholars is excited to announce our partnership with FIKARI to promote biodiversity and ocean awareness through her colorful artwork of Florida's unique wildlife.

Fidan Karimova is an ocean advocate and artist. In addition to her work in technology innovation and global sustainability, she enjoys creating artwork to support organizations working to protect our oceans for future generations. This year, her digital drawings will be sold to support Blue Scholars Initiative.

Fidan is originally from Azerbaijan, a country located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea where she learned to appreciate the importance of clean water and waterways. In 2019, Fidan began drawing one art piece a month in order to donate the proceeds to a nonprofit of her choosing at the end of the year. To date, she has donated $650 to various ocean organizations.

Be sure to follow @fikari on Instagram to see each new release and to purchase a print, you can either direct message Fidan through Instagram, or email her at f.karimova@gmail.com.

Biscayne Bay, Our Living Classroom

The return to Biscayne Bay with our scholars after two years of virtual and in school programming was extra special. Personal connections and transformative experiences are observed with every program but the power of our living classroom that is Biscayne Bay is unmatched.

Last month a group of 16 scholars from The Motivational Edge joined Blue Scholars Initiative and The International SeaKeepers Society for our on the water marine science education program. From seagrass ecology, including a live seahorse, to the food web and water quality testing, our scholars engaged in hands-on learning at its best. But the true magic happened while observing a pod of dolphins feeding in the sandy shallows of the bay.

While we will continue to introduce Biscayne Bay to our scholars both virtually and in school, we are overjoyed to again be on the water to foster ocean stewardship through Biscayne Bay connections.

2021 Highlights

EDUCATION PROGRAM

  • 3 County School Districts (Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier)

  • 109 STEAM Education Programs (Virtual & In School)

  • 77% Title 1 Schools

  • 1,879 Students Served (w/ multi-lesson repeats)

  • 337 Ocean Hero PSAs

AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS & PANEL DISCUSSION

  • 2 Public Awareness Campaigns

  • 1 #SaveBiscayneBay Panel Discussion

  • 4 Giving BAY Day Partners

  • Countless Calls To Action

COMMUNITY EVENTS & CLEANUPS

  • 2 Community Celebration Events

  • 8 Coastal Cleanups

  • 750+ Participants & Volunteers

  • 2,831 Pounds Removed

 

The achievements we reflect on and overall success of our programs are the direct result of the philanthropic support we've received over the last two and a half years. Please show your support today and join our family of supporters to help advance our programs and ensure our continued success!

Ludlam Elementary Changemakers

This week we wrapped up our final day of fun providing Biscayne Bay curriculum to the fourth and fifth graders at Ludlam Elementary School. For the “Ocean Hero Challenge”, our scholars produced some incredible projects teaching their peers about everything from stopping pollution to conserving our planet’s natural resources, as well as how to protect marine life. One scholar even created her own animated video about the importance of saving sea turtles! It’s amazing how these young minds can find solutions to some of our worlds most pressing problems.

Empowering Community to Save Biscayne Bay

The goal of every Blue Scholars education program and community event is to connect to protect. We strive to create a meaningful experience to connect South Florida youth and community members to Biscayne Bay and the ocean, in an effort to facilitate a long-term relationship dedicated to preservation.

Last Saturday, December 11th, Blue Scholars and partner organizations hosted an impactful Biscayne Bay Experience, actively engaging with more than 100 participants and volunteers who joined in the various recreational, service-oriented and citizen science activities. It was a gorgeous Miami day that was captivating and full of positive energy.

Blue Scholars led the waterfront yoga and bay paddle tour, guiding participants through both a mindful and physical connection with Biscayne Bay.

The International SeaKeepers Society and Fill A Bag led the cleanup of Hobie Beach where volunteers removed 112 pounds of trash. Additionally, students in the Junior SeaKeeper Program conducted several scientific surveys to collect data on microplastics in the sand.

At neighboring Darwin Beach, MORAES led a group-effort to restore the coastal habitat, removing more than 2 dumpsters worth of invasive Scaevola taccada, as well as, 50 additional pounds of marine debris.

Community Highlight

Sydney Brown and Ruby Brooks, two Gulliver and Ransom Middle School students, organized a fundraiser for Blue Scholars, inviting their friends and classmates to join them in the Biscayne Bay Experience beach cleanup. They asked for a donation of $10, and in the end, raised an astounding $815. We are so grateful for their support and that of their entire group. They are truly Ocean Heroes.

Finally, a big SHOUT OUT to TUUCI for providing essential shade for our participants and The Salty for the artisanal donuts that were enjoyed by all.

THANK YOU!

Fostering Ocean Stewardship

Ever wonder how to foster ocean stewardship? More often than not, it happens through an experience like one that we witnessed last Saturday during our International Coastal Cleanup & Celebration.

Accompanying her father, one of our young volunteer participants assisted with the debris sort where she helped organize, count and weigh the various items to enter into the Ocean Conservancy’s Clean Swell app for citizen science. Once complete, she and her dad joined the other volunteers at the celebration event where she sat with our partner environmental artist, JudyDayCo, to paint underwater scenes on discarded CD's, an upcycled waste product. This circular "canvas" obviously made an impression, as did her observance of all of the trash she helped remove because later that night, her mother shared a drawing, seen here, that she had just completed in her sketchbook depicting Biscayne Bay both before and after the cleanup.

Artwork by Cree M.

Artwork by Cree M.

Through her Blue Scholars experience a valuable connection was made that she expressed through art and shared with others. Without words, her message is loud and clear... BE THE SOLUTION, NOT THE POLLUTION!

2021 International Coastal Cleanup & Celebration

Photo by Ana Fiotte

Photo by Ana Fiotte

Yesterday, 78 community volunteers converged at our ICC host site, the Miami Yacht Club on Watson Island, to collect and remove from the shoreline more than 4,000 pieces of trash, totaling 962 pounds. As the Blue Scholars metrics team furiously cataloged each item under the sorting tent (generously provided by Curtis Crider of Jungle Island) it was clear that plastic waste was the main culprit.

MYC.jpg

Top Five Items Recorded

  1. PLASTIC BAGS

  2. PLASTIC BOTTLE CAPS

  3. PLASTIC BOTTLES

  4. BEVERAGE CANS

  5. FOOD WRAPPERS

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.

Following this eye-opening experience, volunteers were treated to a waterfront lunch, courtesy of the yacht club, that was accompanied by live music and a welcomed sea breeze. In addition, partner organization Surfrider Miami, using kits from EarthEcho International, tested the water quality with several young participants, while environmental artist, JudyDay, provided them with paint supplies to create underwater scenes on upcycled CD's.

Big THANKS to the Miami Yacht Club, Coastal Waste & Recycling and Jungle Island for their support and contributions towards this special event. Thanks also to the government officials who joined us throughout the day, including City of Miami Commissioner, Ken Russell; County Chief Bay Officer, Irela Bague; and Liaison to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Kirsten Castillo.

Spearheaded by VolunteerCleanup.org, the more than 17,700 pounds of trash that was removed from the 50+ sites across Miami-Dade County, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, could not have been accomplished without the nearly 3,000 volunteers who came out in force to #connectandcollect. We are deeply grateful for their efforts and for the incredible support by our many hosts, sponsors and partner organizations. Thank you all!

2021 ICC-2.png

2021 ICC Photo Gallery