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

Ocean Art Murals

Over the past several months, Blue Scholars and ARTSail have coordinated a youth ocean art mural project which will be unveiled during the World Ocean Weekend Celebration. For the project, artists Linda Cheung, of Before It’s Too Late, and Jamie Nolan have conducted a series of workshops with students from Breakthrough Miami, Overtown Youth Center, and The Motivational Edge during which they've created three ocean-inspired murals to be featured on the beach during the Saturday morning activities on June 3rd. We hope you'll join us to celebrate them, their artwork, and our ocean.

This Project is funded in part by a grant from Miami-Dade County, with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Earth Day 2023

Thank you to the many volunteers and participants who celebrated Earth Day 2023 in Collins Park with Blue Scholars and eMerge Americas. Special thanks also to our sponsors BITMAIN, Kaseya and OUTFRONT, as well as our collaborators. We’re grateful for the shared impact by community members to help remove 64 pounds of trash and debris from the park and adjacent sidewalks and streets.

Park Cleanup with Blue Scholars Initiative and eMerge Americas

Yoga in the Park with Virginia Ansaldi

Marine Life Coloring with FIKARI

Fish School with Sereia Films

Vertical Oyster Gardening with Watershed Action Lab

Program Information from Miami Beach Rising Above

Biscayne Bay Celebration Recap

Whether plastic fishing with SeaKeepers and the Plastic Fisherman, learning about coral conservation with Rescue a Reef, or enjoying The Barnacle Moonlight Concert, it was all smiles under beautiful skies along the shores of the bay for our 3rd Annual Biscayne Bay Experience & Celebration on December 10th. Thank you to the many volunteers, participants and attendees who joined us. Check out some of the highlights here….

 
 

THANK YOU SPONSORS & PARTNERS


Celebration Sponsor: Rickenbacker Marina

Activation Sponsors: TUUCI, Litus Music, Daniel Flores & Rebecca John, Miami-Dade County and Newton Bay

Food & Beverage Sponsors: SALT Waterfront Restaurant, The Salty and Radiate Kombucha

Collaborating Partners: Full Circle Coaching, Pilates For The People, Ocaquatics Swim School, Rescue a Reef, The International SeaKeepers Society, Plastic Fisherman, MORAES, The Barnacle Society, Florida State Parks, AMLgMATD, Members Only, Monchy Business and The Keith Johns Band

#SaveBiscayneBay

# BISCAYNE BAY IS VULNERABLE

Blue Scholars is thrilled to partner with local artists AMLgMATD to offer two cause-based T-shirt designs to accompany our Giving Bay Day campaign. Proceeds will support our free marine science programming for underserved youth, and purchases made through Dec 11th will print and ship direct, with estimated delivery by Dec 30th, so order today by clicking the images above. And if you think AMLgMATD's designs look good on these Tees, just wait until you see their art banners at the bay celebration event!

Thank you, Donors!

Artwork by Alexandra P. of Henry S. West Laboratory School

Thank you for your generous support during The Miami Foundation’s Give Miami Day on November 17th. Your contribution, along with those of 51 other individuals and organizations, enabled us to surpass our goal of $25,000, which includes match funds provided by a Blue Scholars Board Member. We couldn't have done this without you.

With 2022 coming to an end, we're excited to build on this momentum as we continue to not only serve our students with virtual, on the water and in school programs, but also prepare for GIVING BAY DAY + The 12 Days of Biscayne Bay (11/29 - 12/10) and the Biscayne Bay Experience & Celebration on Dec 10th. It is your support that makes this all possible so please join us on the 10th to celebrate Blue Scholars, YOU and our bay.

52 Donors

  • Anonymous (9)

  • Christopher & Catherine Block

  • Gary Bremen & Roger Boone - In Honor of Ellie Bonnell

  • Alan & Elaine Brown

  • John Carr

  • Abbey Chase-Palgon

  • Amy Clement & Kenny Broad

  • Dave Doebler & Dara Schoenwald

  • Kathy & Richard Dunberg

  • Melanie Ervin

  • Morgan & Christian Falk

  • Katie Flood

  • Daniel Flores & Rebecca John

  • Thaddeus Foote - In Honor of Mrs. Mangrove Manatee Student Mentor III

  • Lori Ford

  • Aaron Freedman / SALT Waterfront Restaurant

  • Mike Gibaldi

  • Nicole Glasgow

  • Ann & Terry Goodwin

  • Glenn Harbold

  • Donald & Jennifer Lutton

  • Jackie Mansfield

  • Nathalie Manzano - In Honor of Katie Flood

  • Kathryn Mikesell

  • Newton Bay

  • Ocaquatics Swim School & Team Members

  • John Palenchar & Suzanne Koptur

  • Lynne & Michael Brand

  • Jill Reiter

  • Sophie Ringel

  • Jamie & Lisa Rosenberg

  • Tracy Ross

  • Jeanne Rothchild

  • Marsha Rowland - In Honor of Dylan Brown, Mikayla Brown & Ashton Brown

  • Jennifer & Michael Samway

  • Sanar Naturals

  • Andy Schine - In Memory of George D. Cohn

  • Mary & Bruce Seabrook

  • Adam Steckley

  • Linda Steckley & Pete Weitzel - In Honor of Adam Steckley

  • Ashley Sullivan

  • Matt & Cristina Sullivan

  • Vandervlugt Family

  • James York

Impact

Biscayne Bay and the Everglades watershed is the natural platform where Blue Scholars facilitates a meaningful and transformative learning experience through a 4-part series of virtual, on the water and in-school programming. To date, we have provided more than 4,500 unique experiences, 77% of which served students attending Title 1 schools. Year after year, our impact broadens.

Biscayne Bay Stewards

Last Saturday, the South Florida community was "all hands on deck" for the International Coastal Cleanup, the world's largest volunteer effort to clean our coasts. Spearheaded globally by the Ocean Conservancy and organized locally by VolunteerCleanup.org, Watson Island was the site of the Blue Scholars cleanup effort where nearly 100 volunteers removed more than 1,000 pounds of trash from the Biscayne Bay shoreline. Sorting the trash and recording the data was the Big Blue & You crew who also conducted a Break Free From Plastic Brand Audit. The results:

Top Three Items Recorded

  1. FOOD WRAPPERS - 297

  2. PLASTIC BOTTLES - 257

  3. PLASTIC BAGS - 239

Top Three Brands Recorded

  1. COCA COLA - 147 items

  2. NESTLE - 143 items

  3. Pepsico - 128 items

Plastic pollution is a massive problem for our inland waterways, bays and ocean but small actions can make a big difference. This valuable data allows consumers to make more informed decisions while holding corporate polluters accountable. Recycling is NOT the answer...


REFUSE / REDUCE / REUSE / REPAIR / REDESIGN

Cleanup efforts at the 55 sites across Miami-Dade County helped to remove and catalog more trash than ever before (read the full report). We're incredibly grateful to all of the volunteers and to the Miami Yacht Club and Jungle Island for hosting Blue Scholars. Special thanks also to Coastal Waste & Recycling and the many sponsors and partners that made our Watson Island Cleanup both successful and memorable.

Ocean Heroes

The fourth and final program in our STEAM education series tasks each student with creating a public service announcement about how to be a hero for the ocean. It's called the Ocean Hero Challenge and it gives students a platform to be a voice for change. They're free to design anything they wish with the goal of presenting their PSA to their class and our instructors. It is here that they become Blue Scholars.

Ludlam Elementary Blue Scholars

2nd Annual World Ocean Weekend Celebration

On June 11th and 12th, Blue Scholars, ARTSail and several local and national artists, leaders and organizations once again came together in Miami Beach to celebrate our one world ocean. Presented by the W South Beach, the 2nd Annual World Ocean Weekend Celebration was a success, engaging the South Florida community through art, recreation, education and impact.

Saturday Beach activation

Stepping on to the sand, attendees were welcomed by various art installations including art flags featuring endangered species of South Florida and Modeling the Reef clay sculptures produced in part by Miami-Dade County Public School students. On the Horizon invited participants to join the sea water bucket brigade to fill 6’ tall acrylic tubes, suspending the rising seas for all to observe and ruminate on. Simultaneously, swimmers, paddlers, a mermaid and her little fish glided through, over and under the clear blue water as yogis grounded themselves in the warm sand.

Modeling the Reef + Art Flags & On the Horizon

Beatriz Chachamovits and Ana Teresa Fernandez

30min Ocean Mile challenge Exhibition Swim

Full Circle Coaching and D&R Swimming

Beach Yoga & Pilates Fusion

Maria Alvarez Yoga and Pilates for the People

Ceremonial Paddle-Out & Youth Ocean Swim Instruction

Surfrider Miami and Merle Liivand

Under the tents, educators, activists and conservationists all shared their passion and their enthusiasm to inform the public about the many threats facing our ocean and the solutions to combat them. One remedy assembled more than 100 volunteers who collected and removed 600 pounds of trash from the beach, dunes and car park.

Art & Education

Frost Science MUVE, Yasmin Mohamad, Big Blue & You, Stream2Sea, EarthEcho International, Surfrider Miami’s Blue Water Task Force and Xylem

Beach Cleanup & #PlasticFreeMB

Clean Miami Beach and The International SeaKeepers Society, with MB Commissioner David Richardson

Sunday Evening Engagement

The celebration continued on Sunday in the W’s Great Room with a lively and inspiring conversation hosted by ARTSail Residency and Research Initiative. Following the “Sheroes of the Ocean” panel, attendees enjoyed a cocktail reception and the second night of the International Ocean Film Festival.

Sheroes of the Ocean & International Ocean Film Festival

Ombretta Agro Andruff, Meredith Bass, Beatriz Chachamovits, Maggie Winchester, Ana Teresa Fernandez and Lauren Reilly

 

Thank you

Blue Scholars and ARTSail are incredibly grateful to our many sponsors, partners and community members who participated in our weekend celebration. From the bottom of our ocean, we thank you!

Presenting Sponsor: W South Beach

Celebration Sponsors: Boucher Brothers, Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach Rising Above

Supporting Sponsors: The Mansfield Family, Anna Rossi Shapiro & Paul Shapiro, TUUCI, On the Horizon, D&R Swimming, Radical Partners and the International Ocean Film Festival

Media Sponsors & Photographers: Impact Edition, Jetset Creative, Quinn, Jordan Braun, Tanya Manfrediz, Michael Samway and Julian Salles

Beverage Sponsors: Sipsmith and Biscayne Bay Brewing

Collaborating Partners (not previously mentioned): World Ocean Day, W South Beach, Boucher Brothers, International Ocean Film Festival, VolunteerCleanup.org, City of Miami Beach, The Motivational Edge, Overtown Optimist Club, Breakthrough Miami, Colectivo and The Ant Project