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Twelve community education grants, designed to actively engage adults in water-related issues, have been awarded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Six grants in the Tampa Bay region include:
- $5000 to the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association to create and distribute 300 soil-test kits through Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful. The goal is to improve understanding about the connection between fertilizer use and water quality.
- $4595 to Camp Bayou Learning Center in Ruskin to host the H-2-Ohhhh!, Aquatic Reflections event on Saturday, June 2, from 9am-2pm. Sign up at http://seedoshowh2o.blogspot.com/ to compete for prizes based on your knowledge of water resources, conservation and contamination.
- $2150 to the St. Petersburg’s Parks and Recreation Administration to host a community education event on water conservation and water quality best management practices. The group also will install a sign on Lake Maggiore Island describing the lake’s character and a restoration project that improved water quality.
- $4224 to Pinellas County Parks and Conservation Resources for a volunteer invasive plant removal event and signs at Walsingham Park. The signs will educate visitors on wetland native plants, the negative effects of invasive exotic plants and how to protect wetland systems.
- $4946 to the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute and Karst Conservancy to create an interactive website that will provide information on groundwater issues and karst geology. The site also will feature a forum for community discussions and a calendar of water-related events.
- $4800 to Tampa Bay Living Green, Inc. to host a series of hands-on workshops in six neighborhoods in a partnership with the Council of Neighborhood Associations. The workshops will cover topics like water conservation, Florida-friendly landscaping, and rain barrel installation and use. Three of the six participating neighborhoods will be selected to install Florida-friendly demonstration gardens.
Applications for the district’s 2013 Community Education Grant program must be completed by May 31. For more information, visit www.WaterMatters.org/CommunityGrants or call 800-423-1476, ext. 4757.
[su_divider]Originally published Spring 2012