LTC 489-2021 Miami Beach Rising Above Grants UpdateN\Ll\MI EACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 , www.miamibeachfl.gov
Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
Tel: 305-673-7010 , Fax: 305-673-7782
489-2021
NO. LTC # LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manag~
November 16, 2021 \}If',
SUBJECT: Miami Beach Rising Above Grants Update
I am pleased to announce the selected organizations for the 2021 Miami Beach Rising Above
grants. The grants total $110,000 and are distributed to philanthropic organizations with an
emphasis on environmental projects or programs. These organizations will help promote
sustainability, marine resource protection, and environmental stewardship.
The grants are made possible through the Boucher Brothers Miami Beach LLC Public Beachfront
Concession Agreement which includes value-added enhancements that contain annual
contributions to support environmental and marine related organizations and/or programs.
Similarly, the Waste Contract Agreement includes additional public services in which an annual
contribution is paid to the City to support environmental organizations.
A selection committee comprised of City staff evaluated applications utilizing scoring guidelines
that address the following criteria: applicant experience, project benefit, metrics and data, social
impact, project budget, and priority alignment.
• Pelican Harbor Seabird Station -Wildlife Protection ($18,000}
o Pelican Harbor Seabird Station (PHSS) has served as the only full-service native
wildlife hospital within Miami-Dade County for the past 40 years. Roughly 14% of
the 2,364 injured or orphaned native birds and wildlife were rescued from Miami
Beach since 2020. This represents over 430 patients. Grant deliverables will
include funding wildlife conservation, rescue, and educational efforts to animals
within the City of Miami Beach. This will include continuing fishing abatement
programs, hosting community events, organizing bird releases, and working with
local schools on education.
• Surfrider Foundation -Home Composting ($16,200}
o For over 15 years, Surfrider has dedicated themselves to the protection and
enjoyment of the world's ocean, waves, and beaches. They have been an
instrumental partner in the restoration of the City's dune system and with reducing
pollution and waste in the community. Their deliverables include promoting food
waste diversion efforts by assisting homeowners in setting up their own backyard
composting bins. Deliverables include installing 250 backyard composting bins
and providing education.
• Debris Free Oceans -#PlasticFreeM B ($15,000.00)
o Debris Free Oceans (DFO) is the City's lead partner in the #PlasticFreeMB
Businesses Certification Program. Deliverables include continuing to expand the
#PlasticFreeMB program by educating more students about plastic pollution and
engaging them in assessing #PlasticFreeMB businesses through plastic pollution
presentations; bringing the community together at sustainability-focused lifestyle
awareness events; and providing personalized sustainability consulting to the 149
existing businesses and further advancing the reach of the #PlasticFreeMB
certification to new businesses . This includes promoting the reach of the program
through social media and making it uniquely identifiable on common search
platforms, such as Yelp, Google, and Uber Eats. This will simplify consumer
support of #PlasticFreeM B businesses and enhance desirability for businesses to
sign up for the program.
• Clean Miami Beach -Community Cleanups ($11,300)
o Clean Miami Beach is a volunteer-based environmental-action group full of
educational opportunities. Deliverables include year round beach cleanups and
demonstrating the negative effects of plastics on ecosystems through education.
Their programs will provide volunteers, and passers-by, with a rotating schedule
of interesting events, education, and exposure to unique situations. Classroom on
the Sand, Land & Sea, Clean the Beat, Sunset Meditation Cleanup/Sunrise Yoga
Cleanup, are just a few examples of the weekly cleanup events.
• Food Rescue -Food waste reduction ($10,000)
o Food Rescue US Miami is helping reduce food waste and hunger. In Miami Beach,
they partner with 45 food donors including Centerplate, Miami Beach Convention
Center, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Fontainebleau, 1 Hotel, Red Steak South
Beach, and the Strand Bar & Grill. They are requesting funding for a two-part
project to increase awareness and reduce food waste. This includes expanding
upon their existing school program by partnering with additional schools and
collaborating with the Cleo Institute to launch a series of workshops in local hotels
and restaurants to educate their staff on the importance of reducing food waste.
• Citizens for a Better South Florida -Dune Signage and Data Collection ($10,000)
o Citizens fora Better South Florida partnered with a team of Miami Beach residents
to develop an interpretive signage trail to showcase the biodiversity of coastal dune
ecosystems along the Beachwalk. Combining scientific data with attractive
displays, they will design a set of informational panels that will educate and intrigue
local residents and visitors about the fragile, yet resilient coastal dune ecosystems.
• VolunteerCleanup.org -Marine Debris Student Training ($10,000)
o VolunteerCleanup.org engages volunteers to clean their neighborhoods,
shorelines and waterways, to raise awareness about marine debris and encourage
people to reduce their reliance on single-use disposable plastics. Through the
grant, they will formalize an "Environmental Change-Maker" after-schod
mentorship program, where high school students acquire and practice valuable
activism skills through the process of learning how to organize and lead their own
shoreline cleanup. Phase 1 of the program will include a background primer on the
marine debris problem, and its sources and solutions. Phase 2 will plan , promote,
market and execute a local shoreline cleanup. Phase 3 will lead a broader
discussion (including guest speakers) on ways they can further engage individuals,
businesses and government on marine debris or other issues they care about.
• Miami Beach Botanical Garden -Native Orchid Display ($6,000)
o The Miami Beach Botanical Garden (MBBG) will work on populating the garden
with endangered or critically imperiled native orchids which will spread throughout
the city through seed dispersal. Deliverables include the curation of educational
materials and an art exhibit in the Garden and Collins Canal of photographs of
these plants in the wild to bring awareness to the community by showcasing their
beauty in their native ecosystems.
• Friends of the Everglades -Everglades Curriculum ($5,000)
o Friends of the Everglades was founded in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas to
preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the World. Through this grant
they will revive their 'Young Friends of the Everglades' youth education program.
Deliverables include creating lesson plans to provide information on the
importance of the Everglades and Marjory Stoneman Douglas's teachings which
are based on social equality and environmental stewardship. Lesson plans will be
available to elementary school teachers .
• Blue Scholars Initiative -Modeling a Reef ($5,000)
o Blue Scholars Initiative is partnering with ARTSail to harness the power of visual
art for environmental stewardship. Modeling the Reef, by artist Beatriz
Chachamovits, is an interdisciplinary public education and art project designed to
provide access to and awareness of the decline of coral reef ecosystems, and craft
knowledge by youth in under-served communities. The project consists of three
phases with distinct learning and material outcomes. Students will first discover
Miami's underwater ecosystems through an interactive marine ecology lesson
followed by a coral sculpting workshop led by the artist to craft their own ceramic
coral sculptures.
• South Pointe Elementary -School Composting Program ($3,500)
o Miami Beach South Pointe Elementary has always prided themselves on being a
Green School and were the first school to join the City's #PlasticFreeMB program.
The grant will allow the school to continue the maintenance and operations of their
very successful compost program within the school. Students learn about
composting while composting their food scraps during their lunch/snack breaks.
Parents are also able to drop off food scraps throughout the school day.
If you have any questions, please contact Yanira Pineda, Sustainability Manager
yanirapineda@miamibeachfl.gov.