The Hillsborough River will get some tender loving care from the Lowry Park Zoo’s Boy Scouts of America Zoo Troop 47 and employees from JPMorgan Chase.
The zoo youth groups received a $2,069 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2006 Community Education Grant Program to help fund their River Clean-Up project on April 22. The grant funding comes from the District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board, which includes portions of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties. The Basin Board funds projects intended to motivate communities to get involved in water protection through various activities and educational formats.
The event is also sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, which is contributing a $500 grant from its JPMorgan Chase Foundation. The “Zoo Troop” will also receive support from “Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful” in the form of clean-up supplies.
The young people and their families will catalog trash and submit the results to Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful as part of their “Great American Clean Up” efforts. The group will use the Zoo’s “Sirenia” pontoon boat to aid in their efforts.
The scouts will also develop a brochure to distribute to residents along the river, letting them know about the cleanup and informing them about the importance of protecting our watersheds.
For more information about how you can participate, please contact the clean up coordinator, Peter Cruikshank, at (813) 432-7030.