The Tampa Bay Estuary Program recently awarded $160,000 to 25 community groups for projects that directly involve citizens in restoring and improving Tampa Bay.

This year’s Bay Mini-Grant program attracted a record-breaking 52 applicants. Members of the Estuary Program’s Community Advisory Committee evaluated the grant proposals, recommending 25 for full or partial funding.

Funds for the Mini-Grant program come from sales of the Tampa Bay Estuary license plate – also known as the “Tarpon Tag”. License plate revenues can only be used for projects such as the Mini-Grant program that directly help to implement bay restoration goals.

The 2006-2007 recipients, by county are:

Hillsborough County

Dune Stabilization Planting, Egmont Key Egmont Key Alliance, Sandie Mallett	$2,550.00
This restoration project will stabilize new beach sand placed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in September by planting native Florida coastal vegetation including sea oats, railroad vine and beach sunflower.

Cypress Creek’s Outdoor Learning Lab: Continuing Outreach Cypress Creek Elementary School, Melissa Sherwood	$4,285.58
Students attending this Hillsborough County school will construct a mangrove nursery, plant the mangrove seedlings, and improve the school’s existing cistern system. This program will also be presented as a service learning exhibit at the Florida State Fair in February 2007.

Oyster Reef Shoreline Stabilization and Restoration at MacDill AFB MacDill AFB, Jason Kirkpatrick	$10,000.00
This project was submitted in response to the special criteria request this year. Civilian and military volunteers will install oyster domes along the southeastern shoreline of the base to stabilize approximately 1,000 feet of shoreline.

Migratory Bird Surveys at Cockroach Bay Preserve Quest Ecology, Inc., Melanie Higgins	$7,500.00
Quest Ecology will use a combination of Point Counts with Mist Nets to monitor for canopy, soaring and forest dwelling migratory birds in Cockroach Bay Preserve. Information collected from the surveys will help develop a baseline species inventory of migratory birds utilizing a restored and created preserve and serve as a model for future enhancement projects.

Hillsborough River State Park: River, Watersheds and Bays Education Program, Erica Moulton

$4,185.00

The project aims to design an interactive curriculum and hands-on program using an outdoor, field-based approach to education to engage students in learning about the upper portion of the Hillsborough River as well as its role and impact on Tampa Bay. Targeted school groups will also learn about topics such as movement of aquatic invasive species, impact of runoff from homes, agriculture, paved spaces such as parking lots, and where the water cycle begins.

Manatee County

Rivers and Bayous of Tampa Bay – the McLewis Bayou Bank Restoration Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School, Ann Marie Shields	$4,263.00
The school restoration project on the banks of the McLewis Bayou in Manatee County will involve removal of invasive plants and planting of native plant species. Students will also post project data on the school website and include a section on resources for developing similar programs in the area.

Bay Scallop Restoration of Lower Tampa Bay Terra Ceia Village Improvement Assoc., Curtis D. Hemmel

$9,600.00

This project was submitted in response to the special criteria request this year. This project is designed to reestablish bay scallop populations in Lower Tampa Bay using an innovative stock enhancement strategy to include collection of brood stock scallops, hatchery and rearing and release of scallop larvae into two project sites. Project will also include pre- and post restoration surveys every three months for the project duration.

Cultivating Kids Manatee County Friends of Extension, Kurt Rowe	$4,100.00
The Anna Maria Elementary School project will create several gardens; a sensory garden for K-2nd graders, a butterfly garden for 3rd graders, a vegetable garden for 4th grade and an additional garden with a nature trail for all grades. Rain barrels, a website presentation and curriculum from the Junior Master Gardeners Program will be incorporated.

Borrow Pit Transformation: Re-planting a Newborn Lagoon at Robinson Preserve Manatee County Board of County Commissioners, Melissa Cain	$8,840.00
This project was submitted in response to the special criteria request this year. A pre-existing borrow pit within the Preserve was expanded into a tidal lagoon and is currently in need of replanting. Project will include plantings by volunteers, utilization of a tidal plant nursery as an outdoor classroom, public tours and workshops and creation of curriculum.

Pinellas County

Fort DeSoto Park Trail Educational Signage Pinellas County Parks & Recreation Dept., Debbie Chayet	$5,629.53
This project proposes to eliminate printed guides and the litter problem they cause by installing permanent interpretive educational signage along three trails.

Fort DeSoto Beach Dune Enhancement Friends of Fort DeSoto, Chris Sutton	$7,500.00
Volunteers will be planting sea oats along the west end of Mullet Key in Fort DeSoto and installing educational signs explaining the importance of coastal dune systems.

Canterbury School Habitat Restoration and Education Project Canterbury School of Florida, Dan Otis	$6,575.61
The upper campus of this school in St. Petersburg aims to restore habitat in two campus locations. Additionally, lesson plans and activities will be created to teach students the value of natural ecosystems.

Makeover at Crescent Lake: Creating a healthier and bio-diverse lake Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association, Gary Crosby	$6,689.36
The makeover at Crescent Lake in St. Petersburg will include removal of trash, debris and invasive plants, planting of native plants and installation of storm drain markers and educational signs.

Lake Seminole Native Plant Restoration Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management, Kelli Hammer Levy	$10,000.00
This project was submitted in response to the special criteria request this year. This project will include the installation of native aquatic vegetation and upland plants, including sand cord grass, live oak trees, soft rush, duck potato and other beneficial species along the southern and western shorelines of Lake Seminole.

Harbor Day Initiative Student Environmental Awareness Society (SEAS) at USF St. Petersburg, Ged Helm	$735.00
Harbor Day Initiative is a campaign by USF St. Petersburg students, faculty, staff, affiliates and community members to clean up Bayboro Harbor and promote awareness of issues affecting our waterways and coastal environments.

Putting Together the Pieces of our Watershed Southside Fundamental Middle School, Abby Madeiros	$7,332.00
This project will create an outdoor classroom that will provide educational opportunities for students, parents and the community to learn about stormwater runoff and its effects on our environment. An area on campus showcasing native plants, good drainage techniques and a brochure to educate the school and neighborhood will be created.

The Rainbow at Mars Native Plant Pocket Park Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, Elizabeth France	$7,500.00
Grant funds for this project will be used to restore a formerly developed but now vacant parcel in Clearwater into a pocket park. Included in this restoration is an area landscaped with native plants, a butterfly garden and a winding path including informational signage.

Habitat Rehabilitation in Lake Seminole Park Boy Scouts of America, Cody Jordan	$7,364.22
This project will focus on planting native plants along the shoreline around the observation platform at the park. Volunteers and members of the scout troop will help this 15-year old boy complete this project to earn his Eagle Scout award.

Phase II: The Clam Bayou Marine Education Center’s Coastal Restoration Project USF, College of Marine Science, Danie Lee Cutler	$7,500.00
Grant funds for Phase II of this project will continue restoration efforts at the Marine Education Center. Included in this project will be teacher workshops, addition of three new schools to the existing program, planting and signage of new native plants and design and maintenance of a native Florida herb and wildflower garden.

Florida Botanical Gardens: McKay Creek Pond Native Planting Pinellas County Extension & Florida Botanical Gardens, Thomas M. Roberts	$7,434.76
An inventory of all flora around the Botanical Gardens Museum Pond as well as planting native plants and production and installation of education signage will make up this project. Volunteers and visitors will learn about the plants and the role they play in the habitat, watershed and greenway and role of the retention pond to the system.

School Pond Restoration: St. Paul’s School, Hope Kennedy	$5,973.00
Teachers and students will work together to restore the shoreline of the stormwater pond located on the school campus which drains directly to Allen’s Creek in Clearwater. The project will include removal of exotic plants and replanting with native plants in addition to a neighborhood outreach campaign.

Lake Egret Restoration and Revegetation Neighborhood “E” (The Landings) Homeowner Association, Christopher Davis	$7,264.24
This St. Petersburg neighborhood association plans to restore the eroded bank of Lake Egret by stabilizing and strengthening the existing shoreline using native plants. Although primarily restorative, the project has strong educational components and plans to document the process and give presentations to other interested groups.

Wetlands Ecosystem Exhibit-Water Quality Monitoring & Education Science Center of Pinellas County, Christopher D’Elia	$7,500.00
Building on a newly created wetland exhibit, the Science Center will inform students of all ages about the importance of wetlands using real-time data collected from monitoring equipment located directly in the exhibit.

Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas Counties

Baseline Data for a Restoration Plan of Islands Along Pinellas County Coast Eckerd College, Dr. Teresa Restom Gaskill	$7,500.00
This project will analyze the distribution of plants on islands in Pinellas, Manatee and Hillsborough counties, and will result in the publication of guidelines for island restoration.

Identification and Control of Brazilian Pepper in the Tampa Bay Area TECO’s Manatee Viewing Center, Wendy Valle	$2,740.00
Funds for this project will be used to update and print the “Beautiful But Bad” brochure created many years ago to educate Tampa Bay residents about the harmful effects of Brazilian Pepper plants. The new brochure will focus on teaching homeowners how to effectively remove Brazilian pepper from their own properties.