Big Blue & You is the first ocean conservation nonprofit to be founded by African American women and is a passionate proponent of intersectional environmentalism and decolonizing the natural world. In 2008, when she was twenty-one, marine biologist and science show host Danni Washington founded Big Blue & You with her mother, businesswoman Michelle Swaby-Smith. For the past 15 years, the organization has supported emerging environmentalists — especially young women of color — and equipped young leaders with STEAM tools for ocean advocacy. We believe that equitable access to outdoor spaces is critical to engaging BIPOC communities and that people must experience what they are asked to protect.
Big Blue & You works with various communities across Miami-Dade County and Broward County as well. Our focus is to be able to get youth from underserved areas, especially in Miami-Dade County, to appreciate and protect the Ocean that surrounds us.
Over the years, Big Blue & You has managed several programs and events in various parts of Miami-Dade. One event is our signature event called Art by the Sea Festival where we work with several local non-profit organizations in Overtown and Liberty City, such as Girl Power Rocks, Lotus House, Urgent Inc and Touching Miami with Love. These organizations work with us to gather the students and families then BB&Y sends buses in to pick up everyone for the event. These types of collaborative programs educate & inspire youth in underdeveloped areas encouraging them to learn, engage and transform their mindset about Ocean Conservation. One of the sites that we have done many events is at Historic Virginia Key Beach located on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
For many of our single-use plastic initiatives such as Plastic Free MB and Plastic Free Cities, we have worked with Miami-Dade County, Debris Free Oceans, Ocean Conservancy, Miami Waterkeepers, & more. The Plastic Free Cities program ran for three years, and we worked with high schools in the areas of Little Havana, Doral, Hialeah, and Central Miami.
Big Blue & You is dedicated to inspiring and educating youth about OCEAN conservation through ARTS, SCIENCE, and MEDIA.
Through recent discoveries of "collective effervescence" (coined by Émile Durkheim), Big Blue & You is working to galvanize the next generation of ocean stewards through the power of creativity in the arts, science, and media. The heart of our work is centered around youth empowerment, community connection, and ocean advocacy locally and globally.
Organization name
Big Blue & You, Inc.
Tax id (EIN)
80-0249204
Mission Category
Environment
Program Site Locations
All of Miami-Dade County, Miami: All Communities, Miami Beach
Annual Operating Budget
$100,000 - $249,999
Primary Population Served
Black/African American/African, General Population, Youth & Children
Address
20200 W DIXIE HWY STE 902