OCEAN DAY 2020 is a Full-day and FREE-to-the-PUBLIC immersive educational experience focusing on our Ocean and estuarine ecosystems in South Florida. OCEAN DAY is geared towards age groups ranging from teenagers to lifelong learners. OCEAN DAY will also be honoring the 50-year anniversary of the first Earth Day event in April 1970 – an important popular movement well over a generation ago to help make our home planet as safe and clean as possible for humans, domestic animals, and wildlife including native trees and flora.
Organizing Partners: Ocean Day is made possible by the City of Hallandale Beach, in partnership with the City of Hollywood, Sierra Club of Broward County, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, and Friends of our Florida Reefs. OCEAN DAY 2020 will be a Hallandale Beach-guided Green Event following best practices for a low-waste special event across the board, including exhibitors, vendors and food trucks.
When and Where: Saturday, March 28, 2020, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Community Center – 410 SE 3rd Street, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009. Additionally, we anticipate some speakers and events will occur throughout the day at Hallandale Beach City Hall (400 S. Federal Highway) and the Hallandale Beach Branch of the Broward County Library System.
OCEAN DAY 2020 will host a spacious indoor and air-conditioned Exhibit Hall (open to the public to capacity 10a-3p) featuring informational & interactive booths/exhibits of organizations and local gov agencies doing wonderful work in and around SE Florida to help protect, conserve and improve our coastal waters and beyond. Please see the list below of family-friendly Exhibitors confirmed and/or expected to participate.
Want to learn more about a particular topic or issue? OCEAN DAY also features a large side room that will host numerous panels and speakers – experts from near and far, (open to the public to capacity 10:30a-4:30p). Anticipated panel topics tentatively include, but not limited to: Climate Change Impacts, Coral Disease and Restoration, Careers in Marine Science, Low-Or-No Nutrient Landscaping, and bothersome Sargassum (Seaweed) Blooms along SE FL that can negatively impact much more than a fun day at the beach. We encourage the audience to ask questions, absorb information, and be inspired to act on behalf of our oceans, seas, reefs, and all natural waters that make Earth a very special place for life in the universe.
ALSO at OCEAN DAY 2020:
The Porthole: watch films and streaming video from oceanic expeditions that will introduce you to creatures, places, and ecosystems you may never know existed. From coastal beaches to the deep sea, we all have a lot to learn.
BleachWatch Class: Scuba divers and snorkelers will have the additional option to attend a free Bleach Watch class to properly identify coral bleaching. Space is limited for the BleachWatch course.
Free Document Shredding and Prescription Disposal: Have sensitive or personal paperwork that you need to have properly destroyed? Bring as much as you want – BSO Shredding will have their truck standing by.
Free Salt-Tolerant Native Plant and Tree Giveaway: The City of Hallandale Beach will be giving away hundreds of native plants and trees, all of which are salt-tolerant, to Ocean Day attendees. Some restrictions may apply.
OCEAN DAY 2020 MAIN HALL EXHIBITORS (10a-3p), including but not limited to:
American Shark Conservancy
Anne Kolb Nature Center
Broward County Enviro Agencies
Busch Wildlife Sanctuary
Coral Restoration Foundation
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park
FAU – Center for Environmental Studies
FDEP Coral Reef Conservation Program
Friends of Our Florida Reefs
Hallandale Beach City Green Initiatives & Departments
Heal the Planet
Hollywood Green Team
National Parks Conservation Association
NSU – Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography
Oceana
1000 Mermaids
Rescue-a-Reef
Sea Turtle Oversight Protection
Secret Woods Nature Center
Sharks4Kids
Sierra Club – Broward County
Sirenian International
South Broward High School Marine Magnet Program
South Florida Audobon Society
Surfrider – Broward County
Hallandale Beach YMCA
Rotary of Hallandale Beach and Aventura
Many more exhibitors in the works – please stay tuned! If you’re interested in exhibiting, please click the application at the top of this page.
OCEAN DAY 2020 – Panels & Speakers (10:00a-4:30p), topics including but not limited to:
10 am: Low or No Nutrient Landscaping
10:30 am: Busch Wildlife Sanctuary Animal Presentation in Commission Chambers
11 am: Seaweed (Sargassum) Blooms along SE FL
12 pm: Careers in Marine Science
1 pm: Climate Change and You
2 pm: Coral Disease and Restoration
3:30 pm: Featured Speakers
