Some of Sea Grant's nine bilingual (available in English & Spanish) illustrated scenes from summer 2021’s #BEachSAFEly campaign, which, like its previous season in 2020, provides beachgoers with tips to help keep them safe when enjoying the sand and surf. Credit: Joel Davenport / New York & New Jersey Sea Grant Programs

— Filed by Patch.com's Three Villages edition, in "Neighbor News"

Recent award for this COVID-19-inspired seasonal campaign, announced in the latest NY Coastlines e-newsletter, is second one this year

Stony Brook, NY, August 16, 2021 — Sea Grant's "#BEachSAFEly" campaign, now in its second season, is the recent recipient of a second "Public Awareness Campaign" Award. 

This summer-long campaign, a partnership between New York Sea Grant and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, has now received both a national and regional award (respectively from APEX, Awards for Publication Excellence, and the Fair Media Council) for providing both standard "ocean hazards" tips as well as general safety and health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Expanding on last year's campaign, #BEachSAFEly 2021's visuals — postcards and a poster — are being made available to local beach venues and other community organizations. Throughout August Sea Grant is revealing slices from its new poster, "9 Tips to Help You #BEachSAFEly" on Instagram, where it will be completed by Wednesday, August 25th and will also then debut on Facebook as well as Twitter.

Details on #BEachSAFEly and its recent award are featured in NYSG's Summer 2021 newsletter, NY Coastlines, out today. E-subscriptions can be made to receive this issue now at www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines.

Other highlights from the e-newsletter:

(a) NYSG-funded investigators at Hofstra University have created a video game simulation to teach beachgoers the hazards of rip currents—narrow channels of fast-moving water that can challenge even skilled swimmers. Also, you're invited to participate in a survey and game to help us learn about people’s understanding of beach hazards.

(b) Three new extension specialists have joined in NYSG’s mission of "Bringing Science to the Shore" statewide. 

(c) Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a concern statewide, sometimes for different reasons and in varying degrees of severity. Learn more on the latest science, how you can spot HABs and what you can do to report it.

(c) A handful of partner, and national news items, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s revised its "active" outlook for the current Atlantic hurricane season, saying earlier this month that it shows no signs of slowing.


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.