Washington, D.C., April 30, 2024 - Sea Grant-funded research and work with coastal and Great Lakes communities across the nation are being highlighted in a special issue of Oceanography, the official journal of The Oceanography Society.

This special issue, published in April 2024, features 36 articles contributed by Sea Grant authors across 29 programs and the National Sea Grant Office.

The articles cover a diverse range of topics including projects that advance aquaculture, marine debris research, green infrastructure, science communication and community partnerships, highlighting the wide scope of contributions Sea Grant makes to the environmental and marine sciences.

One of the articles, "12 Rising Together in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic", features a case study on the award-winning #BEachSAFEly project created by New York Sea Grant and New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (pages 16-18). #BeachSAFEly is an award-winning campaign featuring water safety tips on life jackets, rip currents that was initially funded in 2020 via a COVID-19 grant provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Sea Grant Office (NSGO). Learn more at www.nyseagrant.org/beachsafely.

"Sea Grant's success and impact will continue to rely on the power of collaboration,” said Jonathan Pennock, director of the NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. “This special issue showcases and celebrates the breadth of Sea Grant’s work. The articles in this special issue highlight projects from across the Sea Grant network and include contributions from 175 authors and over 50 external partners."

More Info: New York and New Jersey Sea Grant Programs Promote "#BEachSAFEly" — A Case Study

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 virus reached New York, and over the next few months, the state was shut down, forcing people to work remotely; travel was restricted, and long lines formed for testing. With summer months approaching, it was hoped there might be an end to the pandemic, but it became increasingly apparent that would not be the case. However, it was announced that New York would allow parks and beaches to open in May 2020, with the caveat that if best practices were not maintained and COVID-19 numbers spiked, they would need to be closed again.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) recognized this as an opportunity to provide outreach and education to beachgoers to ensure not only that their health safety was maintained but also that they were aware of beach hazards. To provide consistent messaging across the region, NYSG collaborated with other Sea Grant partners to develop the inclusive and multilingual (eventually award-winning #BEachSAFEly social media campaign. 


New York Sea Grant and New Jersey Sea Grant collaborated to develop the #BEachSAFEly campaign that featured safe practices for beach users during the pandemic Credit: Joel Davenport, graphic designer

Led by NYSG and New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSG), Beach Safely was truly a collaborative process that also engaged Connecticut and Delaware Sea Grant programs as project advisors for a campaign focused on social media platforms and eye-catching graphics (see image above). The group also sought input from the designer of a previous Great Lakes Sea Grant water safety campaign.

Nine social media posts were released weekly through the summer, beginning with the Fourth of July weekend. Posted in both English and Spanish by NYSG’s social media platforms, then reposted by NJSG and others, #BEachSAFEly consisted of the following messages:

• Week 1: Stay Social, Be Distant!

• Week 2: Break the Grip of the Rip!

• Week 3: Shoreline Rescue!

• Week 4: Grab Your Sunscreen and Sanitizer!

• Week 5: Be a Water Watcher!

• Week 6: Stay Dry When Waves Are High!

• Week 7: Don’t Let Your Mask Become Marine Debris!

• Week 8: Pay Attention to Lifeguards!

• Week 9: Rock the Jacket, Tailor Your Type!

In addition to graphics, each social media post was accompanied by a short description of beach and health hazards with the appropriate preventative messaging. It was important to ensure the
images depicted safe actions, and many featured characters that were socially distant or wearing masks.

Running on Facebook and Twitter, the campaign was widely successful and received high praise from Sea Grant programs, NSGO, and other organizations as well as media sources. In total, the posts reached over 32,000 people and received over 1,000 engagements across the nation, including from state and federal agencies, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and many others. Beach Safely’s engagement rate was almost 10 times higher than what is considered to be high engagement, and it received the APEX Annual Award for Publication Excellence and the Best Public Awareness Campaign Folio Award from the Fair Media Council.

With the pandemic ongoing as summer 2021 approached, NYSG and NJSG decided to continue to provide #BEachSAFEly social media messaging and to add a simultaneous print campaign. As restrictions were loosened, many of the images were altered to remove or reduce face masks, and the associated text was changed. The major addition was a poster that compiled all nine #BEachSAFEly images and messages. The poster and nine postcards were printed and distributed to local beaches.

By the summer of 2022, while COVID-19 was still a safety hazard, many people had received vaccines and most restrictions had been lifted. Consequently, NYSG and NJSGC removed the pandemic- related information from the campaign, which was always intended to develop messaging that would be sustainable. The “Stay Social, Be Distant!” messaging was dropped, “Grab Your Sunscreen and Sanitizer” was adapted to become “Wear Sun Protection,” and “Don’t Let Your Mask Become Marine Debris” was changed to “Don’t Let Your Trash Become Marine Debris.” In response to more recent, relevant issues, two additional messages and images were created:

• Share the Beach with Wildlife!

• Never Dig Deeper than Your Knees!

During the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, while there was confusion and inconsistent messaging from many agencies, Sea Grant programs worked together to develop relevant extension publications to help beachgoers remain safe from health and beach hazards. #BEachSAFEly’s development illustrated how Sea Grant can work with and rely on the network of 34 state-based programs for expertise, support, and resources to better serve local communities. In addition, educational materials, such as Beach Safely, demonstrate that Sea Grant programs can help build environmentally literate communities that understand and utilize the best available science to make informed decisions.

Acknowledgments

Authors of "12 Rising Together in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic" from NY and NJ Sea Grant Programs include: Kathleen Fallon, Paul C. Focazio, and Samantha Kreisler.

Appreciation is extended to Joel Davenport, who designed graphics; Tom Herrington of NJSGC, who advised on content; and Danica Bellini (formerly NJSGC), who participated in developing the social media campaign. Thanks are also given to the National Sea Grant COVID-19 rapid response grant opportunity that funded this work.