Sixteen Pasco 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 communication 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 Pasco County awardees include:
- Kim Aursland,River Ridge High School, will receive $550.71. Students will utilize Kidsdiscovery literature and Eyewitness books on ponds and rivers to acquire a deeper understanding of water conservation and pollution. Through interactive computer research, students will explore viable possibilities that can be implemented to protect our water resources through community awareness.
- Sue Bedry,PACE Center for Girls, will receive $1,500. Students will learn about ecosystems and the factors that impact their health by constructing an ecosystem. Their studies will lead to a greater understanding of the importance of protecting freshwater resources.
- Roderic Brame,Academy at the Lakes, will receive $1,969.60. By attending a training session with Stream Water Watch, students will learn to collect and analyze water quality data. They will travel to local lakes and test water samples. Students will give poster presentations of their data and analyses.
- Kathryn Bylsma,Dr. John Long Middle School, will receive $1,420. Students will build an interpretive nature trail on campus. They will monitor the water quality along the trail and investigate possible human impacts to the environment. Students will also create maps and take a field trip to Crystal Springs Preserve.
- Dillard Caldwell,Harry Schwettman Education Center, will receive $1,126.19. Students will create learning centers for kindergarten through 12th-grade students along the riverbank of the Pithlachascotee River. The learning centers will focus on the watershed environment, water conservation awareness, water quality, protected plant species, the effects of human population on the watershed environment and the different species of fish and animals the river has to offer. Students will also participate in a riverbank cleanup and conduct water quality and soil testing.
- Lisa Decker,Quail Hollow Elementary School, will receive $498. Students will observe and experience Florida’s natural environment at Crystal Springs Preserve. They will enhance their experience at the preserve by reading either “The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo” or “A Land Remembered.”
- J. D. Durham,Moore Mickens Education Center, will receive $1,005.30. Students will plant a Florida-friendly garden at a local nursing care facility. This will enable elderly and disabled clients to interact with their environment in a sensory manner, while learning more about water conservation, watersheds, water basins and Florida-friendly plants.
- Patricia Harvey-Maines,Paul R. Smith Middle School, will receive $987.65. Students will design, plant and maintain a habitat for native and migrating birds, using Florida-friendly plants. They will also learn about the importance of using rain barrels. Students will share their knowledge with the school community through the use of brochures.
- Donna Hoague-Koljeski,Energy and Marine Center, will receive an Enviroscape watershed model. Students will learn how stormwater runoff directly impacts the water quality of our oceans. They will also learn simple ways that they can help stop stormwater pollution.
- Lee Ogden,Pasco High School, will receive $1,236.70. Students will perform water quality studies. They will also conduct a flora and fauna survey of the school’s wetland area and perform research on the identified plants.
- Heather Sadler,Gulf Middle School, will receive a groundwater model. Students will utilize the model to understand water conservation, preservation and the effects of pollution on the Floridan Aquifer System.
- Michele Shumate,Charles S. Rusche Middle School, will receive $1,238.17. Students will use various lab kits and models to learn how water is replenished, polluted and treated. They will also use innovative technology to create posters, leaflets, and a public service announcement video to be played on school news and local television stations and a pod cast.
- Laine Smith,River Ridge High School, will receive $985. Students will bring in water samples from neighborhood retention ponds, sinkholes and streams. They will test these samples for certain contaminants. Afterwards, students will conduct experiments with aquariums that mimic these water conditions. They will make observations and collect data on how these variables affect the health of local waterways.
- Karen Stewart,Charles S. Rushe Middle School, will receive $1,647.90. Students will create a hydroponic garden and compare the water usage and environmental impact with a traditional garden on campus. They will document water usage for both gardens and determine which garden is the best for water conservation. Students will also conduct research on aquaponics so they can construct an aquaponics system, which will show the natural relationship between plants and fish. Information from this project will be shared with the community.
- Sandra Sutton,Pasco Middle School, will receive $1,541. Students will explore the Withlacoochee River Park during an interpretive tour of ecosystems that represent the Green Swamp. They will perform water quality testing on their field trip, as well as flora and fauna studies. As a follow up, students will conduct a campus habitat assessment and create a Florida-friendly ecosystem.
- Linda Whitman,St. Anthony School, will receive $1,631.80. Students will learn about the importance of conserving the quantity and quality of water in the watershed and aquifer by using an aquifer model.
Last year five mini-grants were awarded in Pasco 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/ .