The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored six outstanding Polk 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 Polk County recipients are listed below. Portions of Polk County are represented by each of these District Basin Boards, Alafia River, Hillsborough River, and Peace River.
Scott Nelson, a teacher at St. Paul Lutheran School, was honored for his “Celebrate Creation” project. As part of the project, students worked to clean and revegetate two ponds on school grounds. After the plantings, students sampled water and soil quality and wrote letters to the community explaining their project. They also created a hydroponic garden to promote water conservation practices and modified an existing turtle garden to incorporate native Florida plants.
Anne Yasalonis of the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program was honored for her role in the annual Spring Obsession, held at Lakelands Munn Park each March. As part of the festivities, Yasalonis coordinates a rain barrel painting activity. The project, which drew 3,000 people this year, gives children and families a fun way to learn about water conservation. Eighty-five rain barrels painted by students, 4 painted by professional artists and 22 left unpainted were on sale to the public at Spring Obsession.
Alice Hart, a teacher at J. H. Wilson Elementary, was honored for her “Grassy Lake/Stuart Preserve” project. As part of the project, volunteers and students created species markers, trails, brochures, and reduced invasive grasses on state land adjoining J. H. Wilson Elementary. Students also wrote and performed plays about the protection of natural resources and enjoyed presentations by representatives from Polk County Natural Resources as well as Florida Fish and Wildlife.
Rebecca Braaten, the Senior Curriculum Coordinator of Science for the Polk County School District, was honored for the Polk County Water Resources Education Program. Throughout the 20052006 school year, the science office of Polk County Schools supervised all Splash! mini-grants within the county and worked to incorporate District materials into middle and high school curriculums. The science office has also worked to bring community partners together, emphasizing the unique features of Polk County and informing teachers about the available community resources.
June Stewart, a teacher at All Saints’ Academy, was honored for her “Solutions” project. Students compared the clean water availability in their community to that of their partner school in China. They prioritized the problems contributing to the global water deficit and identified possible solutions to these problems. The group of students who organized the study, called the Challenge Team, researched issues of the global water deficit and prepared lessons to share the most important points they learned. At the conclusion of the study, each class demonstrated its lesson on a poster, which was displayed on a fence around the school pond. Students also collaborated on a presentation of these issues during a school Chapel service.
Jessica Fredricks, a teacher at Bethune Academy, was honored for her “Water Works” project. More than 450 students created posters, skits and recorded original songs to educate others about issues of water conservation, water quality and natural systems. They also decorated rain barrels and tracked their daily water use. In addition, Bethune Academy hosted a “Water Daze” festival event to educate community members and children about water issues.
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.