100 Yards of Hope
The year-long coral reef restoration project, honoring the NFL’s 100th season and America’s military veterans, will feature FORCE BLUE veteran divers working alongside scientists from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to restore a football field-length stretch of coral reef in the waters off Key Biscayne.
The idea behind 100 Yards of Hope grew from an initial out-planting of 100 corals last June as part of the “greening” of Super Bowl LIV. That project united FORCE BLUE divers with NFL Green, Verizon, and the scientific partners mentioned above through the Super Bowl LIV Host Committee’s Oceans to Everglades initiative. 100 corals were planted to restore a section of Rainbow Reef off Key Biscayne.
Scientists have been monitoring these corals and they are thriving, providing both hope and a framework for future restoration projects.
Seed funding for 100 Yards of Hope is being provided by a combination of public and private sector partners, including the FDEP, NOAA, GreaterGood.org, Free the Ocean and PADI.