Water Conservation and Protection Mini-grant Program

Amount: $3,000
Conserving and Protecting Water with Micro-Irrigation and More

The Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation will use grant funding to develop two engaging exhibits to raise awareness of the importance of protecting and conserving water, increase water stewardship and provide residents with practical ways to conserve water. The first exhibit “Conserving and Protecting Water –Why and How!” includes engaging, water-related information, brochures and flyers focused on calculating water footprints and testing water knowledge. The second exhibit “Micro-Irrigation- it’s Easy” includes micro-irrigation information and a hands-on activity where participants assemble a small micro-irrigation system. The Gardens have thousands of visitors each year and the exhibits will be on display one Saturday of every month in high traffic areas.

Amount: $8,800
Camp Wai Lani Water Conservation Academy

The Girl Scouts of West Central Florida will use grant funding to teach scouts and adult volunteers about where drinking water comes from and the importance of water conservation. The project will include developing the Camp Wai Lani Water Conservation Academy and installing educational programming and water bottle filling stations. The educational programming will serve as an interactive space to inform visitors about the importance of water conservation through tips, facts and interactive activities that raise awareness about the environmental impact of water waste. The project will educate thousands of scouts that visit the camp each year from the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida’s eight county footprint.

Amount: $8,800
Marine Exploration Mobile

The Marine Exploration Center will use grant funding to renew an existing mobile educational display, changing its focus to water conservation and watershed protection education. The mobile display will highlight the negative impacts to our watershed, provide positive changes individuals can make to protect it, and feature programs and rebates homeowners can participate in, such as the Tampa Bay Water Wise rebate program. Additionally, the display will illustrate the negative effects of coastal eutrophication and trash pollution with a side-by-side aquarium display. The project will engage thousands of individuals through twelve excursions to local public events, like the St. Petersburg Science Festival, Localtopia and SharkCon, and to public schools and summer camps, particularly Title I elementary and middle schools.

Amount: $5,000
Protecting Watersheds, Enhancing Ecosystem Health, and Ensuring Clean Water: Educational Initiatives at the Starkey Environmental Education Center

The Pasco Education Foundation will use grant funding to support educational initiatives at the Starkey Environmental Education Center, including the Watershed Ambassador Program for 7th graders and the Eco-Researchers Program for high school students. The project aims to educate Pasco County students about watershed dynamics, pollution prevention and their relationship to drinking water safety. This will be accomplished through classroom lessons and hands-on activities designed to explore the connections between land use, pollution and water quality in Tampa Bay’s watersheds. The project will directly impact approximately 5,500 7th-grade students annually through the Watershed Ambassador Program, in addition to high school students participating in the Eco-Researchers program.

Amount: $10,000
Save Our Water, Save Our Butterflies

The Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation will use grant funding to foster community awareness for protecting Tampa Bay’s drinking water sources, promoting responsible water use and enhancing natural filtration systems through the restoration of native ecosystems. The project will provide accessible resources, workshops and presentations to schools, homeowners, businesses and local governments on water conservation techniques and the ecological importance of native plants and animals. The project will organize community planting events to restore native habitats, develop resource materials and guides that outline best practices for sustainable landscaping, and include live demonstrations featuring native water species that rely on native plants. The project will engage thousands of students, residents and businesses through field trips, in-school programs, outreach events, workshops and planting days.

Amount: $9,700
Be a Pinellas County Water Protector

The Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education will use grant funding to create and distribute a Florida Standards-aligned, elementary school-level curriculum supplement focused on the importance of water conservation and source water protection. The supplements will go to all 95 public and charter elementary schools in Pinellas County. The curriculum supplement will focus on where drinking water comes from, how to protect and conserve it, and will feature activities that connect what students are learning in the classroom to what is happening in their community. The grant funding will also support a professional development webinar for public, charter, private and home school educators that will focus on integrating the curriculum supplement into existing science and language arts curricula. Additionally, teachers will be encouraged to have their students participate in a “letter to the editor” challenge, where students will work as a class to write a letter to the editor of the Tampa Bay Times about a local water issue for a chance to win a pizza party and for consideration for publication.

Amount: $5,000
Artivism: Transforming Upcycled Debris into Community Art

The Water Warrior Alliance will use grant funding to repurpose debris collected during monthly cleanups, a trash tournament and scuba efforts into creative art projects. Workshops and art creation events will educate participants on pollution prevention, water conservation and the impact of individual actions on Tampa Bay region’s drinking water sources, such as the Hillsborough and Alafia Rivers, Tampa Bypass Canal, and Floridan Aquifer. Completed art will be showcased year-round at local festivals, environmental fairs and public venues, accompanied by signage and educational materials promoting water conservation and source water protection. The project seeks to engage hundreds of participants through bimonthly workshops and thousands more through year-round public events.