After a successful inaugural year, the Hillsborough 100 Conservation Challenge is reaching beyond county lines and opening the challenge to any group or business in the Tampa Bay watershed.
The Challenge was created by the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District to involve more urban and suburban residents in community agriculture and water protection projects in a one-week period starting with Earth Day on April 21.
“It was so successful that nearly everyone involved last year has signed up again,” said Betty Jo Tompkins, the district’s executive director. “And since Pinellas no longer has a Soil and Water Conservation District office, we’ll open it to them too.”
Last year’s Challenge projects included multiple gardens at middle and high schools with costs underwritten by Lipman Family Farms, the largest producer of round tomatoes in the county. “Last year they sponsored 12 schools with raised beds, $100 each to purchase soil and nutrients and different types of tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupes and watermelons. This year, they’re sponsoring 16 schools with even more varieties of vegetables.”
The winning school turned out to be a surprise to nearly everyone: the Tampa Residential Facility, part of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, which grew the most and best-looking produce.
This year, 14 community gardens already are signed up. Many other organizations, from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County to multiple Civitan, Lions, Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, will participate in clean-ups, tree and wildflower plantings, recycling projects and other eco-friendly events. Schools are joining the challenge as well, with Riverview High School completing a 200-meter-long rope made of disposable plastic bags.
Also up for the Challenge is the NAUI Green Diver Initiative, hosting its second annual “Gasp – Our Beads of Tampa Bay” dive slated for May 6, featuring an underwater cleanup of beads from Tampa’s Gasparilla invasion and mapping of bead hot spots in Tampa Bay.
“The Hillsborough 100 has become a template for communities across the country because we’re realizing that we need to reach past our traditional agricultural roots and get into inner city, urban and suburban neighborhoods, particularly those in underserved and disadvantaged ‘food deserts,’ where fresh food is difficult to obtain,” Tompkins said.
Tompkins and Board Chairman Mark Proctor presented the Hillsborough 100 Conservation Challenge at the recent National Association of Conservation Districts annual meeting, representing close to 3,000 districts nationally. “It’s critical that we reach the entire nation to emphasize the Importance of saving water and protecting our soil and environment,” Proctor said.
Learn more about the Hillsborough 100 Challenge at http://hillssoilandwater.org/hillsborough-100/ . For ideas you or an organization you belong to can use for this year’s challenge, visit https://issuu.com/timescreative/docs/hillsborough_100_2017_final?e=10555583/47575617 to see the insert published in the Tampa Bay Times for last year’s event.