Estuary Program Awards $81,000 in Community Grants

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program has awarded 21 community groups a total of $81,000 for projects that directly involve citizens in restoring and improving Tampa Bay. More than 30 applications were received for the program.

Bay scallops ready for release into lower Tampa Bay as part of a 2006 Tampa Bay Estuary Program Mini-Grant.

Recipients by county include:

Hillsborough County

Community Stepping Stones, $4,940 for their "One Waterway – One Tampa Bay" program targeting at-risk teens who will learn how their community connects to the Hillsborough River.

Hillsborough River Watershed Alliance, $5,000 to expand the Frog Listening Network display at Lowry Park Zoo with new information on frogs and toads as indicators of the health of the environment.

Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, $2,300 to expand the popular Keep Our Schools Beautiful to several additional high schools in Hillsborough County.

Robinson Elementary School, $2,390 for the "Grow – Learn – Teach – Reach" program that includes field trips followed by student-created lesson plans and projects targeted toward younger students.

Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center, $1,668.19 to create an attractive low-impact landscape using Florida native plants with signs to direct visitors to different areas and plants within the park.

Hillsborough Head Start Community Foundation, Inc., $2,000 for the "Natural Beginnings to Butterfly Endings" project. Two butterfly gardens will be planted and parents will attend classes about water conservation and chemical-free gardening, then take plants home at the end of the year.

Manatee County

Around the Bend Nature Tours, $4,800 to cover field trips for 350 K-8 students at Emerson Point Preserve with hands-on activities focused on the connection between Tampa Bay and its watershed.

Clerk of the Court of Manatee County, $4,663.80 for a sustainable landscape at the Manatee County Courthouse to educate visitors about native plants and environmental landscaping practices.

Eckerd College, $475.93 to estimate populations of wild hogs in Terra Ceia Preserve where they are causing severe damage. Using the "Mark/Re-sight Method," hogs will be marked with paint and surveyed several times to determine behavior patterns.

Florida West Coast RC&D Council, $4,240 for workshops to be held at Gamble Creek Farm to educate farmers in Best Management Practices for water conservation, successful use of tailwater recovery, reclaimed water, micro-irrigation and hydroponics. Science teachers' workshops will incorporate sustainable agriculture methods into their curriculum.

Manatee School for the Arts, $4,935 for marine biology education and environmental stewardship program allowing economically disadvantaged students to participate in projects like salt marsh restoration, building oyster domes, invasive species removal, water testing, coastal clean-ups and community-based trips.

Pinellas County

Canterbury School of Florida, $5,000 to create a custom salt marsh grass nursery and learn how plants act as natural filters to clean the water, followed by planting events at Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve.

Friends of Fort De Soto, Inc., $2,500 for an education kiosk highlighting information about nesting shorebirds at the bird sanctuary on North Beach. Girl Scouts will lead the project, and the kiosk will include their photos as well as a "talk box" so visitors can learn the importance of protecting nesting and migrating birds.

Jungle Terrace Civic Association, Inc., $2,687 for the 5th Annual Parks Clean-Up in conjunction with city, county and other local organizations targeting areas around Jungle Lake, Abercrombie Park and along the Pinellas Trail, including the removal of invasive plants.

Nature's Academy, $5,000 to create an Island Adventure Pilot Project with nature walks, dip netting and a coastal clean-up at Fort De Soto Park. Students will be tested to measure new knowledge and Keep Pinellas Beautiful will document the total amount of trash collected.

Pinellas County Commission for Parks and Conservation, $5,000 for invasive plant control at Walsingham Park. The two-phased project also includes hands-on community involvement and educational signage.

Seminole Middle School (Environmental Club), $4,095 for a native plant beautification project that restores school property to a "living model" that demonstrates environmental value. Native plantings will promote environmental literacy and inquiry-based science activities to engage students, faculty, staff and parents about the connection between the community and the watershed.

Tampa Bay Watch, $4,875 for hands-on learning including field trips to Tampa Bay Watch's Marine Education Center to work on restoration efforts such as salt marsh grass planting for shoreline restoration, construction of oyster domes and oyster shell reef and planting of sea oats and dune sunflower.

The Shores of Long Bayou Homeowners Association, Inc., $4,800 to restore a retention pond that drains into a larger pond that has been restored. Residents of the retirement community will be recruited to help remove muck and invasive plants, then plant native species that clean water and attract wildlife.

Council of Neighborhood Associations of South Pinellas County, $5,000 for a two-day event that will restore Brooker Creek at Campbell Park with volunteers removing trash and invasive plants and installing native plants and educational signs.

Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas Counties

Keep Pinellas Beautiful, $4,760 to create "Adopt an Island" program that provides signs, bags and litter pickers to organized groups to clean up spoil islands in Tampa Bay and help eradicate invasive plants.

For additional information on each of the projects, visit the Estuary Program's website. Applications for 2012-13 must be complete Oct. 1; learn more at http://www.tbep.org/bayminigrants.html.