The Canterbury School, a preparatory school in St. Petersburg, was the winner of the inaugural Golden Mangrove Award as the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s most outstanding Bay Mini-Grant project for 2007.

Canterbury was singled out from among 25 community groups, non-profits, and homeowners associations who received grants from TBEP last year. The award was created by TBEP’s Community Advisory Committee, who selected Canterbury’s campus habitat restoration program as the most outstanding project for 2007 because it combined both restoration and education.

“It touched a lot of people -- students, faculty, parents,” said Bob Minthorn, chair of the Golden Mangrove selection committee. “Kids for generations to come who go to that school will have the opportunity to learn from this.”

The project, funded by a $6,575 Bay Mini-Grant, took a year to complete. The project involved planting marsh grass along a tidal creek at the campus to create a salt marsh; removing invasive plants such as Brazilian pepper; and creating a 12,000-square-foot native plant garden. A water-efficient micro-irrigation system also was installed. More than 200 volunteers, including students, faculty and parents, were involved in the restoration project.

The teacher who applied for the grant, Dan Otis, created a series of lesson plans incorporating the restoration project.

Otis was presented with the Golden Mangrove Award at a February luncheon sponsored by TBEP’s Community Advisory Committee. Grant monies come from sales of the Tampa Bay Estuary license plate, featuring a tarpon.