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Mini-Grant Deadlines Coming Up Fast
Stay inside to escape the summer heat and start planning ways you can help make Tampa Bay better. The deadlines for mini-grant applications available through the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the Southwest Florida Water Management District's basin boards are coming up fast.
 TBEPâs Bay Mini-Grant program is financed by sales of the Tampa Bay Estuary specialty license plate, also known as the ãTarpon Tag.ä Last year, $120,000 was awarded to 20 community groups for projects that directly help to implement bay restoration goals. Grants of up to $7500 ö or $10,000 for projects that address the special issues of air pollution, pet waste or marine invasive species ÷ are available. The 2005 deadline for applications is Oct. 3.
The SWFWMD Community Education Grant Program offers up to $5,000 to either groups or individuals to help others learn more about protecting
water resources in their neighborhoods. Depending upon priorities set by individual basin boards, the district generally awards between 30 and 50 grants per year. Programs must be implemented between March 1 and June 30, 2006, and applications are due Oct. 15.
Funded programs cover diverse activities, from cleaning up Brazilian pepper trees in neighborhoods like Overlook (see story page 6), which earned grants from both organizations, to the frog-listening exhibit at Lowry Park Zoo.
Projects that measure water quality are important to both TBEP and SWFWMD, particularly those which involve nearby residents. ã Weâve done several water quality testing programs, including the Homossassa River Alliance and Crystal Springs Preserve,ä notes Virginia Sternberger, the districtâs communications coordinator. ãWe get in-depth data and educate people who can make an impact.ä
Both organizations also are reaching out to groups who may not have participated in prior years. TBEP has scheduled a series of workshops in each of the three counties surrounding Tampa Bay that will cover what types of proposals are eligible, how to fill out the application form and what criteria will be used to review the proposals.
The district will post its application form online for the first-time ever, Sternberger said. ãAnyone can apply, it doesnât matter if itâs a government, individual, not-for-profit or even a for-profit organization. What we look for are programs that benefit water resources and educate an adult audience - and we want to see measurable changes in behaviors.ä
For more information, visit websites at www.tbep.org or www.watermatters.org.
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august
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August 12, Tampa Bay Estuary Program Management and Policy Board meetings, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. For more information, call Nanette Holland at 727-893-2765.
August 18, Windlass Membership Coffee, 9:30 a.m.Ê First Presbyterian Church, 455 Scotland, Dunedin. Calling all women sailors within driving distance of the Dunedin Marina for the Windlasses first meeting and membership coffee. The club meets every Thursday during the school year for racing, monthly cruises, interclub races with other womenâs sailing clubs. New members, accepted only in August and September, must be able to swim and know basic sailing techniques. Boat ownership is not necessary. Dues are $45 a year with a one-time initiation fee of $40. For more information, call 727-424-3783.
August 20, Great Bay Scallop Search, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fort DeSoto Park. Boaters and snorklers needed to count scallops, which may be considered ãunderwater canariesä that signal changes in water quality. For more information, visit Tampa BayWatch or call 727-687-8166.
August 20, Bayshore Critter Search at Blackburn Point, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Learn more about the plants and animals that live in Little Sarasota Bay with biologists from the American Littoral Society. ALS members $3, non-members $5. For more information, call 941-366-9479.
August 20, Edible Insects at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Entomophagy (bug eating) has been practiced for centuries around the world. Learn about the ants, termites, crickets, beetles, bees and wasps that have been consumed by humans, then challenge your palate with a sampling of some of these tasty insect treats. Cost is $6 per person and pre-registration is required by August 15. For more information or reservations call 727-453-6800.
August 24, Epiphytes: Simply Symbiotic, Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. with Dr. H. Bruce Rinker, director of Pinellas County Environmental Lands Division. What do pineapples have in common with stranglers? What's Spanish and mossy but neither? What important ingredient in vanilla ice cream grows on tree branches? Which billion-dollar industry depends on a healthy forest canopy? These questions and more are addressed in a presentation on epiphytes -- more commonly known as air plants -- that grow in our neighborhood treetops. Pre-registration is required. For more information, call 727-453-6800.
August 24, Classes start at the University of Floridaâs Plant City campus, including programs on dentrology (the study of trees, their origin, ecological function and usefulness to humans) and insect classification. Deadline for registration is August 17. For more information, call Lori Barber at 813-707-7330 ext. 2 or email LGBarber@ifas.ufl.edu.Ê
August 27, Birds of Prey, Boyd Hill Nature Park, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Join Gabe Vargo, avian education volunteer, and his cast of local owls and a hawk for a look at the life history of these majestic birds. Learn about the characteristics that make raptors successful predators, their ecology and natural history, their importance and role in the ecosystem, and the problems they encounter in our human-modified environments. Pre-registration is required, call 727-453-6800.
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The third annual Estuary Academy sponsored by Tampa Bay Estuary Program returns with speakers and hands-on workshops Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg. For more information, call 727-893-2765 or email nanette@tbep.org
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