The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored six outstanding Hillsborough County projects that focused on water resources education. A total of 27 projects were recognized during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Lake Mirror Complex in Lakeland.
The Hillsborough County recipients are listed below. Projects in Hillsborough County received funding from one or more of the following District Basin Boards: Alafia River, Hillsborough River or Northwest Hillsborough.
Christine Collins and Paul Rauch of Wildrose Lawncare, Inc. were recognized for two projects, “Curb Appeal Landscape Makeover” project and “Florida Yard Fandango.”
Wildrose Lawncare Inc., of which Collins is president and Rauch an employee, donated the Florida-friendly landscape design and coordinated the installation for the Districts Curb Appeal Landscape Makeover project in October 2005. The project, which was part of a radio promotion contest, included new sod, retrofitted irrigation and Florida-friendly landscaping plants in the winners front yard. The installation was accomplished in just two days.
In addition, Collins coordinated the Florida Yard Fandango event in March 2006 to promote education to the public on Florida-friendly landscaping. The event, which was held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, attracted approximately 100 people.
Marina D’Abreau, was also honored for her role in the “Curb Appeal Landscape Makeover” project. D’Abreau, of the Hillsborough County Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program, provided her expertise to ensure that the project included all the Florida-friendly landscaping principles. In addition, she also joined District and Wild Rose Lawncare staff for a day of inspecting the homes of the six contest finalists in three counties and helped guide the installation of the landscape.
Lisa Albrecht, a Lutz Elementary School teacher, was honored for her “A Drop a Day Keeps the Drought Away!” project. Lutz Elementary School students learned about the maintenance of native plants by creating gardens. The students designed a rain barrel watering system and monitored weather patterns using graphs. Each grade level managed their own gardens and recorded observations in science journals. To promote awareness, the students performed a readers theater production called The Water Cycle Adventure.
Peter Cruikshank was honored for his role in “River Clean Up II,” a cleanup of the Hillsborough River via Lowry Park Zoo’s “Sirenia” pontoon boat. Participants included the Boy Scouts Troop #47, the Zoo’s youth volunteers and their family members. A flier was developed and distributed to residents along the Hillsborough River notifying them of the cleanup and educating them on watershed issues. During the cleanup, the group cataloged trash then submitted the results to Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful. Approximately 500 people were reached through this project.
Nikki Velez, a Mintz Elementary School teacher, was honored for her “Wetlands and Wildlife” project. Through the program, 170 fifth-grade students at Mintz Elementary School were given the opportunity to understand the connection between water, animal life, natural systems and watersheds by visiting the Lowry Park Zoo. Students shared their knowledge with younger students through discussion and water-related books. To promote awareness, students created their own public service announcements on CD.
To select the awardees, District staff reviewed school projects funded through the Splash! mini-grant program and grants applied for by community members, local governments and non-profit groups through the community education grant program. District-sponsored programs that use volunteers to educate others about water conservation were also considered.
Many of the District’s grant projects focus on various aspects of all four of the District’s areas of responsibility water supply, water quality, natural systems protection and flood protection.