LTC 315-2016 Environment and Sustainability Grants MAMIBEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachil.gov
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
Tel: 305-673-7010, Fax: 305-673-7782
NO. LTC # 315-2016 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Member- of the Ci Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: July 27, 2016
SUBJECT: Environment and Sustainability G nts
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (LTC) is to provide an update on the Environment and
Sustainability Grants funded through the Boucher Brothers LLC Public Beach Concessionaire
Agreement and Franchisee Waste Haulers Agreement.
On May 11, 2016 the City Commission adopted resolution 2016-29396 authorizing. the City
manager to award, through a competitive selection process, up to four grants totaling $60,000 for
projects or programs within our City that promote environmental, marine resource protection and/or
environmental stewardship. A Selection Committee comprised of City staff was created to review
and evaluate all grant applications submitted. The Selection Committee utilized a score sheet to
evaluate each application based on the project overview, project benefits, experience, budget, and
priority alignment. The deadline for the submission of the applications was July 1, 2016 and a total
of fourteen grants applications were received. The selection committee thoroughly reviewed each
application and decided to support five projects in order to increase the overall impact of the
environmental awareness activities.
Based on the criteria within the scoring process, the organizations that applied were provided an
average score. The top five applications with the highest rank were selected and will be
awarded the amounts provided in Attachment A.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to call me.
Attachment A: Grant Applicants Average Scores
Attachment B: Grant Finalists Program Overview
SMT/ESW/YP .
ATTACHMENT A
Organization Average Score Rank Amount
Pelican Harbor Seabird Station 95.75 1 $15,000.00
Teen Job Corps 94.2 2 $15,000.00
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature 92.25 3 $15,000.00
Center
Miami Beach Botanical Garden 87.13 4 $10,000.00
Institute for Regional Conservation 86.25 5 $5;000.00
University of Miami—College of Engineering 84.88 6
Coral Morphologic 78.25 7
Dream in Green 77.88 8
Volunteer Clean Up 77.63 9
Florida International University 75.13 10
Environmental Coalition Of Miami and the 74.63 11
Beaches(ECOMB)
Miami Waterkeeper 75 12
Love the Everglades 67.5 13
Refill Store 61.25 14
•
ATTACHMENT B
Program/Project Overviews
Pelican Harbor Seabird Station - Pelican Harbor Seabird Station (PHSS) has served as the only
full service wildlife hospital within Miami-Dade County for the past 36 years. In 2015, an estimated
201 sick, injured or orphaned native birds and wildlife were rescued from Miami Beach. The PHSS
grant program will offer four Operation Rescue trainings in collaboration with Miami Beach NGO's
and/or City Departments and/or citizen's groups. This will include four large scale community events
to educate the public about the environment, sustainability and marine conservation as it relates to
trash, pollution, and fisheries entanglements. PHSS will provide four public releases of seabirds,
raptors and/or songbirds as an opportunity to highlight partnerships and collaborative efforts with
Miami Beach. Additionally, PHSS will continue providing professional care and rapid response to
injured native wildlife found within the city limits of Miami Beach.
Teen Job Corps - Teen Job Corps (TJC), is an award winning 501(C)(3) Non-Profit, Service
Learning, Public Service Organization, employs low-income, local area youths to address numerous
environmental protective maintenance activities needed to support the City's natural resource
management. The proposed program will continue supporting the tasks performed by TJC youth and
involve non-native plant removal, over-growth removal, shoreline restoration and weekly debris
removal, garden and landscape plantings, all of which enhance the natural, native flora and fauna of
the area. Their efforts will include organizing community volunteer waterway/shoreline cleanup
events after spring and fall high tides and participates in all shoreline cleanup events sponsored by
several partnering community organizations.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center - The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne
Nature Center (MSDCNC) overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and is on 165 acres of undisturbed and
protected natural habitat on a barrier island like Miami Beach. MSDBNC is the only location in
Miami-Dade County that offers hands-on education on marine ecology specifically the mangroves
and seagrasses of Florida and the unique Fossilized Reef. The proposed program will serve 1000
school age children (K-12), college students, senior citizens, and community and religious groups of
all ages. Each program will have approximately 10 participants per group for a total of 100 programs
guided by MSDCNC naturalists. Free bus transportation will be offered and provided to and from the
participant's school or community center to the MSDBNC. Activities would include a combination of
field science study programs, beach clean-ups, native plant restoration projects, marine debris
removal events, and education on mangrove/sea turtle conservation.
Miami Beach Botanical Garden — The proposed project is to expand the Miami Beach Botanical
Garden's (MBBG) Native Garden with a Pine Rockland demonstration garden. The goal is to create
an environment where native plants specific to the Miami Beach ecosystem are grown. These types
of plants have a significant role in the local community by providing habitat for indigenous fauna and
provide ecosystem services specific to local needs. These benefits include storm water filtration,
wind buffering, and erosion protection. The demonstration garden will actively encourage neighbors
and South Florida locals to consider their landscape pallet as part of their environmental footprint.
Expanding native installations in the garden will also allow for the community to buy native plants
within the nursery. The program will also be tied in to the Rising Above native species pallet program
at City Hall.
Institute for Regional Conservation - The Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC) will lead an
Environmental Stewardship program that will focus on various marine conservation issues such as
beach erosion, beach biodiversity, sea turtle lighting issues, sea level rise and waste reduction. IRC
has a history of implementing conservation projects throughout South Florida and will produce
programs that are successful and meaningful to both the environment and volunteers. The
proposed program will involve beach restoration, beach cleanup events, and hands on marine
conservation workshops for local citizens and afterschool programs. These events will focus on
invasive plant species and adding native plants into the landscape to help increase biodiversity,
minimize the impacts of erosion and reduce the lighting impacts of nearby buildings on sea turtles.