When we think of the Super Bowl – the most popular sporting event in America, according to Arcadia Publishing – ocean conservation and military veterans are not usually at the forefront. But in the last two years, a unique collaboration before the annual game has put coral restoration at the forefront of the world’s attention.
For nearly 30 years, NFL Green, the NFL’s environmental and sustainability program, has managed community greening initiatives for the sports league. Each season, they culminate in “Green Week” before the big event, with projects undertaken by the NFL and the Super Bowl Host Committee for the benefit of each host community, explained NFL Green Associate Director Susan Groh.
“The goal of NFL Green is to reduce the environmental impact of our events and go far beyond that to leave a positive green legacy,” Groh told EcoWatch. Efforts include food recovery, recycling and waste management, donating used materials for events and construction, and offsetting energy for events.
This green heritage has also included a note of blue over the past two years, meaning conservation efforts focused on the waters of host cities Miami in 2020 and now Tampa in 2021. Miami Green Week activities for the Super Bowl LIV involved Planting 100 endangered staghorn corals in Biscayne Bay in honor of the NFL’s 100th season, Groh said.
In the last year, the effort has expanded to “100 yards of hope”, a project to restore the size of a football field. The final areas and center of the field-sized reef were placed in the fall of 2020, followed by divers who planted thousands of staghorn and mountain corals in The Florida Aquarium (FLAQ), University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) , SECORE International and Frost Science, explained Deborah Luke, senior vice president for conservation at FLAQ.
Military veterans and coral scientists are teaming up to plant endangered corals as part of the NFL’s 100 courts of hope. Force Blue
“This important project is helping to rebuild Florida’s coral reef, the world’s third largest barrier reef in crisis,” Luke told EcoWatch.
Florida’s coral reef provides key areas for nurseries that support the ocean ecosystem and protect the coasts from storms and erosion, Luke said. It also provides significant economic benefits by pumping $ 3.4 billion annually into the U.S. economy through jobs, tourism, seafood and medicine, Groh of the NFL added.
Unfortunately, global factors such as the climate crisis, global warming and acidification remain threats, along with regional pollutants and a mysterious coral disease.
“Over 90 percent of [the reef’s] corals have died … restoring Florida’s coral reef is imperative if we want to continue to harvest [its] benefits, “Luke said.
100 Yards of Hope intends to reverse this trajectory on a single showcase reef, explained Dalton Hesley, senior research associate at RSMAS, whose team led the restoration efforts. This is the first large-scale restoration project combining thousands of multi-sex and asexual coral transplants, along with disease tracking and mitigation, urchin relocation, and high-resolution mapping. All of these actions increase coral coverage, diversity and recovery, Hesley said.
“100 yards of hope is a symbol. It’s a symbol of what passionate and hopeful individuals can achieve when they work for a common vision,” Hesley told EcoWatch. “What began as a celebration of the NFL’s 100th season has turned into a battle for the future of our coral reef.”
Last week, 150 elk corals, another endangered coral species, were added to the field. RSMAS provided 55 endangered corals during Super Bowl 55 last weekend. FLAQ provided the rest of the corals. A final planting of massive brain and star corals in the spring will complete 100 meters of hope, Groh said.
Force Blue combat veterans witnessed the plantings. The nonprofit is relocating and deploying former special operations veterans and military-trained combat divers to work with scientists and environmentalists on marine conservation work, said Executive Director Jim Ritterhoff.
55 divers remove debris from Tampa Bay as part of NFL Green Week. Force Blue
“If we can do something good for veterans by giving them a new mission to save the planet and provide a highly skilled workforce to the scientific community, so much the better,” Ritterhoff said. “But maybe [touchdown] it’s all about how this effort uses Navy SEALS and the NFL, people you don’t traditionally see talking about conservation, to reach an audience that wouldn’t necessarily pay attention to coral reef scientists. People listen because these guys are their heroes. “
Noting that this is more of a global project than a local Florida project, Ritterhoff added: “I think it’s imperative that everyone is aware of these issues. The Florida coral reef is a national treasure and could disappear 100% in our lives. If we don’t behave differently, it will disappear. “
NFL Green Week included planting Reed Park Community Garden in Tampa Bay. Michael Farrant / Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee
In addition to coral restoration efforts, NFL Green has completed traditional community greening projects. These involved creating pollinating gardens, planting mangroves, restoring the shoreline and adding sand dunes to prevent erosion and storm damage.
The NFL Green also connected land and sea with an underwater cleanup called Dive 55 at the mouth of Tampa Bay. For this, the leaders of the Force Blue team led 55 divers to recover more than 1.5 tons of waste, not limited to old fishing traps, rope, net, plastics and beach debris, Groh said. Some of the recovered objects will be used by local students to create art projects that will be displayed at FLAQ to raise awareness of marine debris.
“It’s about leadership and legacy,” Groh said. “Large events have the opportunity to offset not only the environmental impact of their events, but to go far beyond and leave the communities hosting events better than they found them. The world is facing significant environmental challenges and it will take us all to address them. “
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