Clean up at the pier!
When: December 16, 2025 - 11:00am-3:00pm
Where: St. Pete Pier
When We Belong Here announced its two-day festival at the St. Pete Pier, one big question followed the excitement: what happens to the Pier and the Bay after the music stops? Large waterfront events often leave behind plastic cups, wristbands, and wind-blown trash that can end up in the water and along the shoreline. To change that story, We Belong Here is partnering with us to host a volunteer-powered post-festival cleanup that directly supports the health of the Pier and Tampa Bay. This initiative is about more than picking up debris, it’s about setting a new standard for responsible event culture, showing how organizers, nonprofits, and the community can share responsibility for the places where we gather and ensuring the Pier and its waterways are left visibly cleaner than we found them.
Floating Wetlands
When: January 2026
Where: TBD
We’re in research and planning mode for our Floating Wetlands Project with our partners at Stewards of Urban Lakes (SoUL), targeting a January 2026 launch. This phase focuses on site assessments, native plant selection, and design testing to ensure the wetlands effectively filter pollutants, reduce runoff, and boost water quality in St. Pete’s waterways.
Want to get involved? We’re building the volunteer team now.
Click Here to Sign-Up for this Project or email our Volunteer Coordinator, Tim Fagan, at [email protected]
St. pete community resource hub
When: Ongoing
We're excited to announce progress on our Community Resource Hub Database, soon to be accessible via our website. This centralized platform will serve as your one-stop resource for critical community services.
What's Included: The Hub will feature comprehensive directories for shelters, other local nonprofits, food pantries, emergency services (fire, police, hospitals), mental health resources, FEMA locations, flood zone maps, and evacuation routes.
Coming Soon: We're developing a real-time BUP Operations Dashboard that will sync hourly with Pinellas County datasets, ensuring you have access to the most current information during emergencies and beyond.
Interested in joining the development process and have GIS experience?
Click Here to Sign-Up for this Project or email our Volunteer Coordinator, Tim Fagan, at [email protected]
Green Roofs for St. Pete Bus Shelters (Pilot Program)
When: Ongoing (Research Phase)
Where: District 7 Routes
We are in the research & proposal stages of an exciting project to integrate green roofs on St. Petersburg’s bus stops with the goal of launching a pilot program with the City. This project will not only help with stormwater management but also create cooler, greener spaces for the community while showcasing how urban planning can work in harmony with nature.
Booker Creek: Urban-to-Ocean Cleanup
When: Ongoing (Research Phase)
Where: Booker Creek
This is an exciting community project in the Research & Proposal Stage, directed towards the disadvantaged communities along Booker Creek (and possibly Salt Creek at a later date), focusing on water quality, located in St. Petersburg’s Southside community.
Up N’ Out: Our First Underwater Cleanup Was a Splashing Success!
When: July 12, 2025
Where: St. Pete Yacht Club (SPYC) Marina, 11 Central Ave
In partnership with Letts Dive, The Blue Urban Project hosted Up N’ Out, the first full underwater cleanup of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club marina in over 25 years—and wow, did our community show up!
Thanks to 52 incredible volunteers, we pulled over 700lbs of marine debris from the marina floor—everything from tangled fishing lines to rusted metal and long-forgotten dock hardware. But we didn’t stop at cleanup. We also collected data on the types and sources of debris, all of which will be compiled into a post-event report shared right here on our website to help inform both the public and local policymakers.
Most importantly, we made a whole lotta new friends. Check out the ABC Action News segment here.
Stay tuned for the full report, photos, and stories from the day—and if you missed this one, don’t worry. There are more community cleanups and marine research opportunities ahead. Want in? Hit that volunteer button and be part of the next chapter.
Past Projects
