Go Green, Stay Blue – Tampa Bay Watch

go green, stay blue

Tampa Bay Watch’s staff-initiated sustainability effort

The mission of the program

Go Green, Stay Blue (GGSB) is an effort to educate and encourage the public to use environmentally and economically efficient practices in order to reduce waste and protect the health of the environment.

Sustainable actions our organization is taking:

Restoration:

Cutting Down Waste

Our restoration projects no longer provide single-use plastic disposable cups at volunteer projects, instead we provide reusable items and washable cups.

Marine Debris

Marine debris (trash) is a worldwide problem; an estimated 14 billion pounds of trash are dumped in the ocean yearly. Many of our restoration projects focus on cleaning up our bay area: coastal cleanups, monofilament fishing line cleanups, and derelict crab trap removal!

Education:

Estuary EDventures

Through Estuary EDventures, students are exposed to the wonders of our natural world through hands-on marine science labs and immersive field experiences. Our programs aim to educate students about the Tampa Bay estuary while empowering and encouraging them to act as environmental stewards.

Bay Grasses in Classes

At participating schools, students build a wetland nursery where they plant, maintain, and harvest estuarine wetland plants to be replanted into targeted coastal areas. Coastal wetland plants stabilize shorelines, act as storm buffers, filter storm water runoff, and provide habitat for many wildlife species.

Events:

Weddings

Tampa Bay Watch encourages eco-friendly weddings! We provide tips to keep your events green along with lists of green vendors!

Special Events

We have taken several steps to make our events green! We introduced paperless mobile bidding at auctions, provide washable mason jars to cut down single-use plastics, and have even partnered with sponsors like Covanta who has made our annual Evening for the Bay a zero-landfill event since 2012!