Students at Sumter Alternative School will learn about freshwater habitats in Florida thanks to a "Splash! school grant":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
The goal of the Splash! school grant program is to provide teachers with funding to enhance student knowledge of topics that meet the District's core mission and teach students about their local watersheds, water conservation, quality and supply. Splash! school grants provide up to $3,000 per school on a reimbursement basis and are available to public school teachers.
Melissa Gulvin, the District's K–12 education coordinator, said the grant program is important because these funds are often the deciding factor in whether students learn firsthand about local water resources or not.
"For instance, if a school's campus is near a local water body, students may conduct hands-on water testing and cleanups while learning how their actions affect the health of that local water body and the surrounding watershed," she said.
Teacher Jerry Lipham, Sumter Alternative School, was awarded $498. Students will learn about the freshwater habitats in Florida while on a field trip to Richloam Fish Hatchery. Students will test water samples at the hatchery and compare them to samples tested on another field trip to the Sumter Environmental Education Center.
This year, 94 Splash! grants were awarded across the District's 16-county region to educate students on water resources. Past Splash! grant projects include student monitoring of local water quality, environmental field studies and school or community outreach campaigns designed to encourage water conservation.
In addition to Splash! grant funding, the District offers free teacher professional development workshops and curriculum materials. The publications are correlated to Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards and can be ordered on the District's website at "WaterMatters.org/publications/":http://www.WaterMatters.org/publications/.
The goal of the Splash! school grant program is to provide teachers with funding to enhance student knowledge of topics that meet the District's core mission and teach students about their local watersheds, water conservation, quality and supply. Splash! school grants provide up to $3,000 per school on a reimbursement basis and are available to public school teachers.
Melissa Gulvin, the District's K–12 education coordinator, said the grant program is important because these funds are often the deciding factor in whether students learn firsthand about local water resources or not.
"For instance, if a school's campus is near a local water body, students may conduct hands-on water testing and cleanups while learning how their actions affect the health of that local water body and the surrounding watershed," she said.
Teacher Jerry Lipham, Sumter Alternative School, was awarded $498. Students will learn about the freshwater habitats in Florida while on a field trip to Richloam Fish Hatchery. Students will test water samples at the hatchery and compare them to samples tested on another field trip to the Sumter Environmental Education Center.
This year, 94 Splash! grants were awarded across the District's 16-county region to educate students on water resources. Past Splash! grant projects include student monitoring of local water quality, environmental field studies and school or community outreach campaigns designed to encourage water conservation.
In addition to Splash! grant funding, the District offers free teacher professional development workshops and curriculum materials. The publications are correlated to Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards and can be ordered on the District's website at "WaterMatters.org/publications/":http://www.WaterMatters.org/publications/.