The Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Community Advisory Committee has selected a diverse group of organizations and projects for the 2019 Bay Mini-Grant slate. Funded through the Tampa Bay license plate – also known as the Tarpon Tag – the projects help restore Tampa Bay and build awareness of the issues facing the estuary. Awards include:
The Problem with Plastic- Chart 411, $5,000
Funding for a robust outreach and education initiative using multi-media and social networking approaches to highlight the small steps that citizens can take to mitigate the plastic trash problem. The program will include a children’s component using books and pop-up exhibits in areas with limited access to environmental information.
Restoration and Water Quality Monitoring- Coffeepot Bayou Watershed Alliance, $1,940
Bay Mini-Grant funds will support clean-up events, invasive plant removal and water quality sampling equipment. Canterbury School and North Shore Elementary School students will conduct ecological surveys and learn ways to reduce debris entering Coffeepot Bayou.
Turning the Tides Traveling Exhibit- Community Stepping Stones, Inc, $3,785
Children ages 7 to 14 years from the Sulphur Springs area will work alongside mentors to research red tide and develop exhibit components that will first be exhibited at the Hillsborough Community College Ybor City Art Gallery and then at various elementary schools.
Black Skimmer Monitoring and Stewardship in Tampa Bay- Eckerd College, $3,675
Black Skimmers, an imperiled bird species, will be banded and monitored to help determine habitat use during breeding season. Education at banding beach areas will be used to teach about the bird, and recruit citizens for continued monitoring.
Little Bird Key Shoreline Stabilization- Friends of Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges, $10,000
Funded with $6,000 from the Bay Mini-Grants program matched with $4,000 from the J. Crayton Pruitt Foundation, this is a special criteria habitat restoration project. It will include creating and installing 500 oyster domes, a two-year monitoring component, monthly bird surveys and annual cleanups at Little Bird Key, which is adjacent to the main channel of Boca Ciega Bay and Tierra Verde.
Lights, Camera, Conservation – A Day of Estuarine Exploration at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center- Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Suncoast Youth Conservation Center, $3,835.98
Bay Mini-Grant funds will purchase a camcorder, DSLR camera and accessories for disadvantaged students to use while attending experiential learning field trips and estuarine learning experiences. Student-created videos will go back to participating schools to be used as teaching tools.
Making A Difference- G. Steve Jordan Films, $4,950
G. Steve Jordan Films specializes in working with small- to medium-size organizations to help them engage with a wider audience by sharing short, compelling videos of stories that matter. Funds will be used to highlight a handful of ongoing or previous mini-grants winners focusing on the work they have done to make Tampa Bay a better place.
Right Plant, Right Place – Part 2: Restoring Healthy Watersheds One Plant at a Time- Keep Pinellas Beautiful, $5,000
Part 2 of this project will focus on expanding education efforts by working with additional schools in Pinellas County, continuing quarterly education service learning projects, monthly invasive plant removals, and continuing education and empowerment of citizens regarding environmental benefits of native plants.
Exploring, Educating and Conserving Tampa Bay through Field Trips and Experiential Education- Manatee School for the Arts, $5,000
Field trips to participate in beach seines, kayaking, species identification, plankton lab identification, otter trawls, snorkeling and conservation discussions for 105 marine science students in Manatee County will be funded with this Bay Mini-Grant.
STEMming the Tide of Microplastics- Nature’s Academy, $4,955
As many as 400 underserved seventh-grade students and 40 teachers and chaperones will participate in hands-on curriculum focused on microplastics. Curricula will include discovering forms of marine debris and the environmental impacts they cause, and use of citizen science technologies to collect and record microplastic abundance to be uploaded into the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS).
Gasp Our Beads of Tampa Bay – Next Level Dive Club, $2,266
Building off a program created by C4OE, Next Level Dive Club will bring divers to Tampa Harbor to participate in a second underwater clean-up of plastic beads, necklaces and trinkets. Beads and trinkets retrieved will be used at local fairs/festivals as teaching and awareness tools.
Sunshine Skyway Seagrass Coverage and Recreational Activity Impact Assessment- SCUBAnauts International, $1400
SCUBAnauts, youth ages 12 to 18, under the supervision of scientists and other volunteers, will use snorkel surveys, seine nets, sediment cores and other methods to evaluate seagrass coverage on the north end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
March-to-the-Sea: Re-connecting Wood Stork Pond to Long Bayou- The Shores of Long Bayou Condominiums, $5,000
This Bay Mini-Grant will reconnect an existing mangrove-lined stormwater pond (Wood Stork Pond) to Long Bayou. Over the past 20 years, invasive plants and trees have choked out the tidal stream between the pond and the bayou. This effort will help improve water quality and provide a source of tidally influenced water to the pond and surrounding mangroves.
Littoral Wetland Enhancement at Crescent Lake: A Strategy for Nitrogen Reduction- St. Petersburg Sustainability Council for Friends of Crescent Lake, $4,644.51
This project will include invasive plant removal, native plant species establishment, installation of floating wetland islands and student education activities focused on STEM learning.
Mann-Wagnon Restoration Project- Sulphur Springs Museum, $3,000
Mann-Wagnon is a historic park located on the beautiful Hillsborough River that is home to Moses House and Community Stepping Stones, a non-profit organization that offers an after-school arts program for at-risk youth. Bay Mini-Grant funds will be used to clean out the swale of debris and foliage and re-plant with Florida-Friendly plants. Additionally, the project will focus on engaging other community groups including Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful.
Growing a Culture of Compost Through the Compost Watershed Connection in Manatee County- Sunshine Community Compost, $2,875
This campaign will offer composting-related presentations and materials at events, indoor/outdoor talks and demonstrations accompanied by education materials at places such as schools, community gardens, clubs and farmer’s markets. Participants will learn about all aspects of composting.
Boca Ciega Bay Vertical Oyster Gardens- Tampa Bay Watch, $5,000
Funds from this grant will provide supplies and instruction needed to create vertical oyster gardens as part of a citizen science project to assess recruitment of oyster communities onto the vertical gardens. Vertical gardens will be installed and monitored to determine recruitment of oysters that filter water.
Red Tide Community Engagement: World Oceans Day, 2019- The Florida Aquarium, $3,843.05
A community event to educate local and visiting citizens about harmful algal blooms and their impact on the estuarine system will be funded with a Bay Mini-Grant. Visitors will also receive information on how to limit personal exposure to harmful algal blooms.
Wetlands Demonstration Garden Maintenance – UF/IFAS Extension Manatee County Master Gardeners, $1,210
The purpose of the garden is to teach residents about Florida-friendly gardening principles through practical ideas they can implement in their own landscape. The gardens will also demonstrate the functionality of different Florida habitats in natural settings.