Big Blue & You celebrated Earth Day at José Martí MAST with the Ocean Knowledge Wheel and the grand opening of the Xavier Cortada Eco-Art Courtyard. Big thanks to Mr. Andrew Kearns!

Meet Lauren Martin, our new Project Consultant! She brings together marine science and Indigenous wisdom to spark inclusive ocean conservation. Read more about her experience here!

Kim Rizio’s sustainable art installation turns discarded plastics into a powerful statement on waste and value. Created at the Plastic Free Cities Capstone Event, this collaborative piece took over 100 hours to complete! Learn more here!

From student advocate to sustainability leader! Vanessa R. started her journey with Plastic Free Cities unsure of how to make an impact. Now, she’s leading canvassing workshops, mentoring students, and even getting local businesses to join the movement!

Our Plastic Free Cities Junior Consultants led a virtual Plastic-Free Blitz with MDCPS’s Student Gov. Assoc.! This student-led workshop empowered peers to fight plastic waste. Missed it? Watch the replay here!

From June 2–7, 2024, Sea Youth Rise Up united global youth in D.C. for a week of training, lobbying, and ocean advocacy. They met with lawmakers, attended CHOW, and heard from 40+ experts. Big Blue & You co-led this powerful week of action!

Plastic Free Cities Student Mentor Vanessa Carbajal shares how the program opened her eyes to the impact of plastic pollution—and why reducing our personal plastic use is key to protecting the planet.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Plastic Free Cities, a collaborative project between Ocean Conservancy, Debris Free Oceans, and Big Blue & You, in partnership with Miami-Dade County’s Plastic Free 305, and funded by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lemond Brown, aka Mr. IMAG the STEAM MC, is a Big Blue Crew member who is also the CEO of Swaliga Foundation and the genius behind #SteamTheBlock project. Inspired by his experiences with Big Blue & You, in 2022 Lemond created a track and video featuring our own Danni Washington!

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with One Ocean Beauty! One Ocean Beauty is certified cruelty-free, sustainably sourced and produced, socially responsible, supports ocean conservation, and uses perpetually recyclable glass for many products (all packaging is recyclable).

If you were to observe a coral, you may think that it’s a simple organism that looks like a rock. However, corals are actually animals, and these animals create a mosaic of the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. Coral reefs provide a home to a quarter of all marine life, which means we depend on corals every single day.

Looking for stunning, sustainable jewelry? Trove Jewelry is your jam! Created by French-American artist and ecologist Victoria Cassar, Trove features one-of-a-kind pieces made from reclaimed materials, blending beauty, purpose, and powerful storytelling.

Want to see how we hosted a zero-waste celebration for our Plastic Free MVPs, complete with a visit from the Miami Beach mayor? Read more here for all the behind-the-scenes details on this impactful, eco-friendly event!

Want to know more about our Big Blue Crew? Check out this blog where four high school students talk about how they are taking an active role in fighting for our oceans!

We want to take a moment to highlight all the great work that the Big Blue Crew has done over the past few months. The Big Blue Crew is a team of youth advocates from all across the globe who have joined forces to protect the oceans of the world.

We’re so excited that we have been selected as a 2021 Visa She’s Next Black Women-Owned Business Grant Recipient! 🎉 Visa committed 10K and an IFundWomen coaching membership to 60 Black women-owned businesses through this program, and we are honored to be a recipient! ⁠

As I sit down to write this article, I smile. Inside a quaint coffee shop in mountainous Colorado, the music is pleasant and the air is clean. A SCUBA diver since the age of twelve, I daydream of colorful reefs filled with elegant rays, happy turtles, and fish schools that swim like rivers across a saltwater paradise.

Ocean conservation, also known as marine conservation, is the protection and preservation of marine ecosystems. Ocean conservation aims to protect marine species, habitats, and coastal communities while limiting the damage caused by human activity. Conservationists advocate for the health of our oceans, recognizing that life on Earth depends on healthy oceans.

We’ve all seen it, or at least a variation of it, before; the calm horizon where the sky meets the ocean, palm trees dancing in a gentle breeze, the stillness of the air in an untouched canyon. And yet, when you see a piece of art from Lars Gesing, no matter how many times you’ve seen that same scene in the past, it feels like the first time.

Plastic-Free July is always a great time to look for plastic-free alternatives so I’d like to share some ways to set yourself up for success in reducing your plastic consumption by focusing on one area of your life at a time. In this blog post, I’ll also share some easy plastic-free alternatives anyone can get behind and support this month and beyond!