Meet Lauren Martin, our new Project Consultant! She blends marine science and Indigenous knowledge to inspire ocean conservation for all.

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 Sustainability Consultants recently led a Virtual Plastic-Free Blitz Workshop in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ District Student Government Association. This student-led crash course empowered high schoolers to take action against single-use plastics in their own schools and communities. If you missed the live event, catch the recording on our website to see how these young leaders are driving a plastic-free future!

From June 2nd to June 7th, 2024, Sea Youth Rise Up (SYRUP) brought together young ocean advocates from around the world for a week of training, lobbying, and networking in Washington D.C. Participants engaged with state and federal legislators, environmental agencies, and attended Capitol Hill Ocean Week, hearing from over 40 guest panelists. This collaborative initiative by Big Blue & You, The Ocean Project, and EarthEcho International showcased the power of youth advocacy in ocean conservation. Read on to discover the impactful moments and key takeaways from this inspiring event.

Plastic Free Cities Student Mentor Vanessa Carbajal talks about her experience in the program and how she learned the importance of the reduction of our own plastic consumption.

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.

If you’re looking for sustainable jewelry that’s made from reclaimed materials, Trove Jewelry is going to be your jam! This amazing jewelry brand was started by Victoria Cassar, a French American artist, ecologist, and science communicator. She has specialized in using reclaimed materials for her art. Victoria creates amazing pieces ranging from large-scale installations to the beautiful and unique jewelry of Trove Jewelry. Her art is both beautiful and contains a powerful message, inspiring everybody that comes into contact with it.

Want to see how we threw a zero waste event for the Plastic Free MVPs that the Miami Beach mayor attended? Check out this blog for all the details!

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!

Want to know why we love Cape Clasp? They are a clothing and accessory company born out of Cape Cod and their bracelets are 100% recyclable ocean plastic bracelets.