Weâve all heard the sentiments before: ãWe need to protect Tampa Bay so our children and grandchildren can enjoy it,ä says one participant. Another notes, ãFuture generations should have the same healthy clean bay we grew up with.ä And finally, one comments, ãIt wouldnât be fair if our children canât have what we have benefited from.ä

Predictable, perhaps, except for the fact that these are fifth graders ö years and years away from having children or grandchildren ö participating in a program called Earth Force created to make students aware of how their actions impact the environment.

Across the Tampa Bay area, more than 50 teachers and nearly 1200 students are involved in the innovative effort that allows children to research problems and then develop their own solutions. At Rampello Downtown Partnership School near the mouth of the Hillsborough River, students are sampling water to determine what contaminants impact the river as it nears the bay.

Once they define and evaluate the problem, theyâll come up with a solution they can implement on their own.

Further along in the process, fifth graders at J.S. Robinson School in Plant City are growing native plants to help address turbidity at Crystal Springs. ãTurbidity is caused when water pulls dirt and soil into the water where it hurts plants and animals,ä notes one student in the Title I school.

ãDirt blocks sunlight in the water column but plants and animals need that light for energy so they can stay alive,ä another adds.

Researching the problem, students learned that native plants help hold soil in place, reducing erosion and turbidity, so they applied for mini-grants and purchased 250 native plants, which are growing outside their classroom. Theyâll go back to Crystal Springs in April to plant them where theyâre needed most.

The water quality measurements really struck home when students realized that the bottled water they were drinking after last yearâs hurricanes came from Crystal Springs, said Judy Der, a long-time participant in Earth Force who was Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year in 2004.

The need for conservation also led the students to develop another project ö reading books about water to younger students, complete with hand puppets to illustrate critical points. ãThe younger kids really listen because the fifth graders are the ones they look up to, and when my kids are doing the teaching, theyâre really learning,ä Der said.

Earth Force emphasizes ãservice learningä that helps students put their knowledge into action, added Tracey Shadday, Earth Forceâs program director in Tampa Bay. ãItâs a circle ö they gain knowledge, then actually go do something about it, so weâre building leaders who understand the issues and give back to their communities.ä

Established in 1994 to enhance knowledge of complex environmental issues and increase student involvement, Earth Force is a national organization that trains and supports educators in community action programs. Earth Force programs are open to teachers at all grade levels as well as facilitators

Support offered includes ongoing training and professional development, program materials, assistance with lesson planning and field trips, and a network of professionals and community resources. In Tampa Bay, Earth Force educators also have access to mini-grant funding provided through local organizations including the Southwest Florida Water Management District, TECO Energy Foundation and the Pinellas County Environmental Fund.

An Earth Force Summit is scheduled for April 27 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Al Lopez Park in Tampa bringing together youth, educators and community partners. For more information, visit www.earthforce.org/suncoast/ or call Cindy Benkert at 727-521-1403.

Extensive water testing at Crystal Springs, a headwater of the Hillsborough River and the source of Tampaâs drinking water, indicated high levels of turbity, caused when stormwater carries soil into the river.