Messages for the Bay: Water, Climate, & Advocacy

Join Jordan Grard from the Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, climate literacy expert Dr. Alex Panos, BLOOM, and Climate Teach-In for Messages for the Bay. This session invites students into a conversation about water, climate change, and public advocacy grounded in the Tampa Bay region. Centering the work of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, the session begins with an overview of local water quality and stormwater issues and how these challenges are experienced in everyday life across the Bay. Participants will learn how advocacy and mitigation efforts take shape through community engagement, public voice, and environmental action.

Students will then take part in a guided postcard-writing activity that invites them to reflect on what they have observed or experienced while living in the Tampa Bay area. Prompts will encourage students to share perspectives on water quality, stormwater impacts, and changes they believe would be beneficial for protecting local waters. Rather than treating storytelling as a polished product, the activity frames writing as an accessible and participatory way to express care for place and imagine environmental futures.

The postcards will be collected and curated as a snapshot of student perspectives on water advocacy. The session concludes with a facilitated discussion connecting student reflections to broader questions of climate advocacy, public storytelling, and how community perspectives can inform future environmental work, including educational displays or gallery-style exhibitions that amplify public voices around Tampa Bay’s waters.

Building Learning, Optimism, Outreach, and Mindfulness Organization at the University of South Florida | Website | View More Events

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