The Tampa Bay Times recently covered a new study that revealed the Bay has the largest amount of seagrass measured since the 1950s.

What, you need us to explain what that has to do with fun? You’re so demanding.

Here’s the deal: seagrass can only thrive in water that’s clear enough for sunlight to get through. So, the number of seagrass beds is an indicator of water quality–more of them = a cleaner bay.

If you know anyone from that area, you know that means more fun. Folks there love their fishing, boating, and spending time at the beach just as much as we love record-breaking winter storms up North (read: we’re jealous.)

So why are we talking about this? Because we had the privilege of helping out. Congress created the Tampa Bay Estuary Program in 1991 and its job was to cut pollution flowing into the Bay. The big problem at the time was polluted runoff, caused by local overuse of fertilizer, chemical cleaning products, and not picking up after Fido to name a few. To get local homeowners and businesses on board, the Program hired us.

The result was Be Floridian, a campaign that didn’t mention protecting seagrass once. Instead, it focused on protecting fun. If residents could take simple steps, like replacing their lawn with Florida-friendly plants or adhering to the summer fertilizer ban, they could protect the fishing, boating, and beaching that they loved about the Bay.

We made everything about protecting the lifestyle local residents loved (fun), made a website with tips and resources (easy), and used an outdoor and online buy to promote the idea that “this is what we do in Tampa Bay” (popular). Paired with the countless other efforts the Tampa Bay Estuary Program has spearheaded, it looks like it’s having an impact.

So, speaking to certain company leaders that may be reading, we’re getting a staff trip to the beach for this right?