For 16 months harmful algae bloom plagued Sarasota’s shoreline, bringing with it toxic air and sick wildlife—but Red Tide messed with the wrong community.
Armed with teams of scientists and decades of research, Mote Marine Laboratory established the Red Tide Institute to be a hub of innovative development focused exclusively on creating promising technology to mitigate algae blooms’ effects. Mote attracted widely-respected expert Dr. Cynthia Heil to lead the new Institute, however capital was required to lock in her salary and enhance the Institute’s chance for securing more funding.
With public health on the line and a historic blow to our tourism economy, Barancik Foundation recognized the time to be bold in supporting our community and ecosystem. We provided a $751,487 grant over five years to ensure that Dr. Heil and her team could make uninterrupted progress towards developing innovative ways to control red tide and its impacts.
With research and resources in hand, the Red Tide Institute will work tirelessly to lessen the impact of future algae blooms on our people, wildlife and economy.
