Miami non-profit encourages youth to fall in love with the ocean to protect it

A World Oceans Day celebration on Miami Beach off Collins Avenue and 43rd Street brought out residents from all over South Florida to show their love and reverence for our “Planet Ocean.”

“We need to get more people out here and celebrate it and enjoy it,” exclaimed Surfrider Miami chair Tanja Morariu. “Look at it…it’s amazing!”

The event was organized by The Blue Scholars Initiative that programmed the events of the day in observance of the global day of the ocean. Since 2019, the Miami non-profit has been introducing all of the wonders of our natural backyard to disadvantaged young people who’ve never been exposed to it.

“Getting more and more students that live within a short distance of Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean here in Miami, that have never actually experienced it,” said Adam Steckley, who is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Blue Scholars. “Because those are the key moments that then, you know, create a change in the mindset.”

The organization creates opportunities of engagement through hands-on experiential learning, offering field trips and “classrooms on the water” for fourth and fifth graders mostly from inner city public schools.

“Our hope is to introduce them to explore, to discover, to learn with the hopes that they’re going to fall in love with it and have the desire to protect it,” explained Blue Scholars’ Program Director Meredith Bass.

That love is a key connection as our ocean continues to be strangled by plastic pollution. According to the non-profit Oceana, it’s estimated that 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean each year.

The surfing community has always been a strong defender of all things ocean. Surfrider Miami led a paddle out about 500 feet from the shore where a traditional Hawaiian circle of love was formed to honor how the ocean brings people together.

“We need more people to understand the preciousness of the oceans and how our activities impact the ocean and what we can do about it,” reflected Miami-Dade County’s Chief Heat Officer Jane Gilbert.

Every second breath we take comes from the ocean. It is our life support system and covers 72% of our planet.

But less than 3% is actually protected from overfishing, pollution and other harmful human impacts. Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society hope to increase that number to 30% by 2030. That’s why since 2002, World Oceans Day has brought people together of all ages for this common mission.

Four-year-old Mia explained to Local 10 Anchor and Environmental Advocate Louis Aguirre why the ocean is so important to her.

“It’s beautiful”, she exclaimed.

“It’s beautiful and what do you like about the ocean the most?” Aguirre asked.

“The turtles,” she enthusiastically responded.

Volunteers from Clean Miami Beach reported for duty to help clean the shore and the dunes as part of the celebration. The growing mission was launched by Sophie Ringle five years ago, starting solo and now boasting over 14,000 volunteers who’ve helped out.

“In the past five years, how much trash have you picked up?” Aguirre asked.

“103,000 pounds of trash,” Ringle responded. “And over 50% of that is plastic.”

“We are too wasteful and we need to change [our] behavior,” she added.

In just over an hour, 88 volunteers picked up 238 pounds of trash that appeared to already look pretty clean. But looks can be deceiving.

In addition to the clean-up and education efforts, Surfrider Miami assisted with a dune restoration program.

“We’re putting in some native plants,” explained Surfrider Miami Vice Chair Mike Gibaldi.

On this day, nature was given a chance to heal, children were inspired, and our ocean won.

To learn more about the Blue Scholars Initiative, click here.