Twenty Pinellas 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 Pinellas County awardees include:
- Nickie Contreras,Academie Da Vinci, will receive $1,037.57. Students will take a field trip to the Clearwater Aquarium, listen to guest speakers from local environmental organizations and read water-related books. They will also create educational posters, brochures and a display to promote stewardship among Honeymoon Island State Park visitors.
- Jessica Clements, A*cademie Da Vinci*, will receive $1,717. Students will maintain and expand an existing on-campus butterfly garden and take a field trip to the Florida Museum of Natural History to explore the Butterfly Rainforest. They will also perform water quality tests on local water bodies and water-related classroom experiments.
- Sally Carlson,Clearview Avenue Elementary School, will receive $555. Students will plant an on-campus butterfly garden, as well as perform activities from the District’s K-3 Watershed Resources Box and the Watershed Education Resources Box for grades 4-8.
- Tony Atherholt,Countryside High School, will receive $4,880.93. Students will plant a Florida-friendly garden on campus and document how much water they use for irrigation.
- Jacqueline Lavely,Gibbs High School, will receive $4,775.40. Students will setup and maintain classroom ecosystems and perform water-related classroom experiments. They will also take a field trip to The Florida Aquarium.
- Leslie Pohley,Largo Middle School, will receive $4,914. Students will take field trips to local water bodies to perform water quality tests and visit the Florida Aquarium. Students will also create an on-campus Florida-friendly garden and classroom ecosystems, as well as perform water-related classroom experiments.
- Lorol Brackx,Maximo Elementary School, will receive $3,411.88. Students will take field trips to Weedon Island Preserve to study natural ecosystems and cultural history. They will create projects documenting their experience and perform activities from the District’s Watershed Education Resources Box.
- Nancy Stitt,Meadowlawn Middle School, will receive $2,749.98. Students will perform a series of water quality tests at Anderson Lake Park. They will create projects to document their results.
- Jennifer Kennan,Osceola Middle School, will receive $4,620.50. Students will build cisterns to store rainwater, which will be used to irrigate plants in an outdoor classroom. They will also germinate and grow fruits and vegetables using environmentally friendly methods while studying soil erosion and the impact of soil types, water quality and soil pH on plant growth.
- Susan Carney,Ozona Elementary School, will receive $5,000. Students will create an indoor aquatic ecosystem as well as set-up a rain barrel, worm bin, EarthBoxes, and a butterfly garden. They will also create a water pledge and read and publish their own water-related books.
- Suzanne Mizzi and Cindy Barber,Pinellas Preparatory Academy, will receive $4,498. Students will take field trips to Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa Bay Watch, Around the Bend Sarasota Wetland Investigations, The Florida Aquarium and the Science Center of Pinellas County. They will also perform classroom experiments, read water-related books and engage in activities from the District’s Watershed Education Resources Box.
- Barbara Gurian,Plumb Elementary School, will receive $4,760. Students will take field trips to Lowry Park Zoo and The Florida Aquarium. They will create projects to document their studies.
- Susan Manche,Skycrest Elementary School, will receive $1,929.22. Students will read water-related books, take a field trip to a local water body to perform water quality tests and engage in activities from the District’s Watershed Education Resources Box.
- Bernadette Ahearn,Sutherland Elementary School, will receive $2,499.76. Students will plant and maintain a water-conserving garden on campus. They will also read water-related books and engage in activities from the District’s Water Conservation Kit and Watershed Education Resources Box.
- Karen Stockton,Westgate Elementary School, will receive $4,499.99. Students will create a water-conserving garden on campus. They will also take a field trip to the Florida Botanical Gardens, perform water quality tests on various sources, read water-related books and engage in activities from the District’s Watershed Education Resources Box.
- Jenna LoDico-Cummings,Canterbury School of Florida, will receive $4,250. Students will plant and maintain an organic garden utilizing rain barrels. They will also take field trips to a local organic garden and the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, as well as install a solar still and create an aquaculture fish farm. They will also perform activities from the District’s Water Conservation Kit and K-3 Watershed Resources Box.
- Shaune Fields,Gulf Coast Christian Schools, will receive $1,146.40. Students will maintain and expand existing on-campus gardens using rain barrels and compost bins. They will also read garden-related books, take a field trip to an organic/hydroponic farm and perform activities from the District’s Water Conservation Kit.
- Linda Jordan,Indian Rocks Christian School, will receive $1,909.95. Students will plant a garden on campus using hydroponics systems. They will observe and chart the growth of plants, record water usage and track the yield of the produce.
- Jamie Wojciechowski,New Middle School, will receive $3,364.70. Students will read water-related books and plant an on-campus garden using hydroponics. They will track water use, monitor growth and harvest vegetables to share with the school and their families. Students will also produce a short informational video on hydroponics, organic gardening and composting.
- Bianca Ramos,Palm Harbor Montessori Academy, will receive $4,408.45. Students will maintain and expand an existing on-campus hydroponic garden. Teachers will organize weekly workshops for students, focusing on aspects of the water cycle and water conservation. Students will also perform activities from the District’s Watershed Education Resources Box.
Last year 19 mini-grants were awarded in Pinellas 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/.