Five Charlotte County teachers are among the record number of educators who applied for and received Splash! mini-grants through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
This year the District awarded Splash! mini-grants to 209 educators totaling more than $413,000. That’s 72 more grant recipients than last year.
Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the increase in awardees to an increase in promotion among the District’s school board contacts and classroom teachers, as well as decreases in school budgets.
“These teachers are receiving a small amount of money but are able to accomplish so much,” said Hull. “Mini-grant recipients also utilize the District’s great collection of curriculum materials as well as learn about other opportunities, including teacher training and District-funded field trips in their region.”
The Charlotte County awardees include:
- Jessica Scott-Dunda,Sallie Jones Elementary, will receive $4,083.91. Students will expand and maintain an existing campus water-conserving garden, create a book about water conservation, take a field trip to the Myakka River and read water-related books.
- M. J. Sanger,L. A. Ainger Middle School, will receive $5,000. Students will take a field trip to a local water body to perform water quality tests and study plants and animals.
- Roberta Ruxton,Lemon Bay High School, will receive $660. Students will take a field trip to an organic farm to study agricultural water saving methods.
- Blake Schmidt,Lemon Bay High School, will receive $4,328.61. Students will canoe the Peace River to observe nature, collect macro invertebrates and fossils, and estimate stream flow. They will also plant and maintain a Florida-friendly garden on campus.
- Carole Maggio,Liberty Elementary School, will receive $584.70. Students will investigate the effects of nutrients in the soil on terrestrial plants and aquatic systems. They will model the effects of fertilizer runoff and explore the link between land and water using water, soil and plants.
Last year two mini-grants were awarded in Charlotte County.
The goal of the mini-grant program is to promote hands-on water resources education that teaches students about their local watersheds and the water resources within them. Splash! mini-grants provide up to $5,000 per school on a reimbursement basis only and are available to public, private and home school teachers.
Past mini-grant projects include water quality monitoring of local lakes and rivers, the development of water-conserving gardens on school properties, and outreach campaigns designed to promote awareness of water-conserving practices.
In addition to mini-grant funding, the District offers educators free teacher training workshops, speakers for classroom presentations and free educational materials. The publications are correlated to Florida’s Sunshine State Standards and can also be ordered on the District’s web site at www.WaterMatters.org/publications/ .