Blue Scholars Initiative

Nature is all around, yet, as the built environment advances further upward and outward, fewer and fewer opportunities exist for many youth to freely engage with the natural world. These nature-based experiences, that are both fun and enriching, provide the essential foundation for our long-term connection to the environment and willingness to protect it.

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. We engage students in marine biology, marine ecology and watershed concepts, to provide a better understanding of, and connection to, Biscayne Bay's marine ecosystem and the impact of human stresses on it. Through hands-on, experiential learning, students further investigate the rich biodiversity beneath the surface, conduct citizen science and develop a passion for the environment, inspiring our next generation of ocean stewards to solve our most pressing and difficult issues.

Blue Scholars Initiative serves youth, at no cost, from participating Miami-area Title 1 schools and community-based organizations who might otherwise never have the chance to make these valuable connections, especially with the marine environment. Blue Scholars is a catalyst to increase awareness of our land to sea connection and threats to the watershed and ocean, while improving our youth's understanding of, and engagement in, environmentally responsible behaviors. To date, we have provided more than 8,200 unique experiences, 84% of which served students attending Title 1 schools. Year after year, our impact broadens.