Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

The small group of women sat around the table at Rapscallions, a restaurant in Land O’ Lakes, talking about issues that are important nationally to women.

It’s the kind of conversations these women often have, and they are particularly mindful of the need to continue working on issues such as pay equity, equal opportunity and women’s reproductive rights as they prepare to help Tampa host the National Organization for Women’s national conference June 24-26.

Eleanor Cecil of Lutz, one of the chief organizers for the conference, met recently with Doris Rosen, the committee chairwoman and president of Pasco NOW; Bonni Axler, vice president of Pasco NOW; and Helen Wall to discuss the upcoming event.

Planners are expecting around 600 members of NOW to converge on Tampa for the conference, which has the theme of “Daring to Dream: Building a Feminist Future.”

The event will be at the Embassy Suites on the University of South Florida campus.

Conference speakers will include national, state and local women, including actress Lynn Chen, political strategist Celinda Lake, slam poet Katie Makkai and Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.

Organizers of the conference are pumped.

“We are very excited,” Rosen said. “It’s the first time that it has been in the Tampa Bay area. The last time it was in Florida was in Miami in 2001.’’
Rosen said national NOW officials encouraged Florida to bid for the conference after visiting Florida’s state NOW conference at the TradeWinds in Clearwater.

The national conference will touch on a wide range of issues that pertain to all facets of women’s lives, Rosen said. A final lineup has not yet been determined, but the list of workshops at last year’s conference in Boston offers an idea of what conference-goers might expect.

Workshop topics at Boston’s conference last year included: “America the beautiful, are we obsessed with beauty?” “Young feminist leaders, effectively engaging and organizing young activists,” “Women warriors: Issues confronting service women and women veterans,” “Moving beyond abuse: The journey from victim to survivor.”

Although it is called the National Organization for Women, NOW’s membership includes a fair number of male members. Rosen estimates that 20-25 percent of the members are men.

She notes that many men share concerns about equal treatment and support NOW’s efforts to help guarantee a level playing field for their wives, sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, grandmothers and friends.

Inequalities still exist, Cecil said.

“Women are still only making 76 cents for every dollar a man makes, and there’s still the glass ceiling, Cecil said.

“Our rights are being taken away as we speak,” Rosen said.

Many people equate NOW with abortion rights, the women said. The organization is adamant about reproductive rights, they said. But NOW also advocates on a much broader spectrum of issues that are important to women.

For instance, “Title IX is not just about being able to play sports in college. Title IX covers everything that relates to women on college campuses,” Cecil said.

Axler said she joined NOW decades ago, but remains a member of the organization not only for herself but for future generations of women.

“Nothing has changed. If anything, we’ve gone backwards,” Axler said.

“The recent tirade against Planned Parenthood” offers a good example about why the fight for women’s rights must continue, Axler said.

“When I was in college, I didn’t have health insurance. I was between my parents’ policy and working on my own. I used Planned Parenthood as my primary physician.”

That’s still true for many women today, she said.

Wall, who has about a half dozen granddaughters and numerous great-granddaughters, said “somebody has to make sure that we keep the rights that we’ve worked so much for.”

One of her granddaughters was told in high school that she couldn’t go to the shop class because it was for boys, Wall said. “She couldn’t go to the bodybuilding class because it was for boys.”

That sounds like the dark ages, Wall said, but it wasn’t all that long ago.

This year, NOW is making a special effort to reach out to young women, to encourage them to attend the conference, Cecil said. Some scholarships are available for young women in high school and college, who want to come to the conference, Cecil said.

Not all women share NOW’s positions on various issues, but when the group fights to establish or preserve rights, it seeks to protect rights or expand opportunities for all women, Rosen said.

“When we do something to better women, it’s to better all women.”

Besides updating attendees on various issues, the conference also provides a great forum for personal growth and inspires members of the organization, the women said.

It also fosters connections and deepens friendships, they said.

“You go home feeling energized. It’s a wonderful feeling being around people who are so serious and so heartfelt about the issues. There’s a lot of good conversation. You feel very empowered when you come home,” Rosen said.

It also helps women remain in the loop about issues that must be addressed, Cecil said.

Despite much progress through the years, the work continues, Cecil said.

“There are still issues that are out there. We haven’t arrived,” she said.

For additional information about the conference, contact Eleanor Cecil at .

 

After school program may get axed

By Kyle LoJacono

The once popular after school program offered by the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department appears to be on its last legs.

The program costs Hillsborough residents $7 million each year, despite the fact the number of kids enrolled has plummeted by more than one-third in the last three years.

The elimination of the program was part of a plan by parks and recreation director Mark Thornton to cut $7.5 million from the department’s budget for the next fiscal year. Other parts of his proposal include layoffs and outsourcing athletic field maintenance activities.

“The bottom line is, we are trying to put ourselves in the direction of strong financial sustainability,” Thornton said. “We’re not there now. We have not been there. We’ve been patching things year to year.”

One of the more radical elements to Thornton’s cost-cutting plan would consolidate programs now offered at many parks throughout the county at a few large sites. Right now 42 of the department’s 180 parks are permanently staffed. The plan would be to have only 30 with workers all the time.

“The problem right now is, we have some parks way over capacity and others that are hardly being used,” Thornton said. “The latest figures I saw is some are at 130 percent capacity and others are as low as 30 percent. It doesn’t make sense to continue to staff the parks that are hardly being used instead of moving them to the more popular sites.”

Thornton wants the smaller parks to have staffing only during community meetings and other gatherings. He predicts this would free up money to let the department build gymnasiums, pools, skate parks and other facilities to better serve the public while cutting the overall budget. On average, the larger parks would have 15,000 square feet of indoor space.

One of these larger regional parks would be a new 40-acre site in Odessa/Keystone. The commission is currently debating if they should take $1.6 million allocated for a community center in Citrus Park to help buy the land, which includes a 22,000-square-foot building and a pair of indoor basketball courts.

“We’ve gotten a lot of complaints from people in Citrus Park who want the community center built, but those community centers are part of the funding problem we have right now,” said Commissioner Ken Hagan. “We build these centers and then we can’t afford to staff them. … I don’t think we would ever be able to build a Citrus Park center in the current economy.”

Thornton said a park in Odessa/Keystone could have soccer and other athletic fields, which could play host to regional tournaments.

“That would generate money for the department and the county,” Thornton said.

Thornton said all locations would still have its athletic fields and courts open as they are now, even if they lose its staffing.

Thornton’s master plan could only go into place if the after school program, such as the one at Nye Park in Lutz, was eliminated. Parents and guardians of kids in the course started paying $48 a week two years ago, up from $20. The numbers of children attending the parks dropped from 6,000 to 1,800 since then.

The program costs $7 million a year to maintain and has not dropped with the reduction in kids participating because of fixed costs like insurance and staffing, according to Thornton.

Thornton said most of the kids who left the program were moved into the similar one through Hillsborough School District. Linda Cobbe, a school district spokeswoman, said the school program could immediately take in those 1,800 kids.

Additionally, 64 full-time and 33 part-time department employees would see their jobs eliminated. They would mainly be from the after school program and from maintenance crews.

County administrator Mike Merrill said any county works near retirement would likely receive a buyout. However he did say it would be impossible to do it for everyone as Hillsborough will need to cut about $65 million from its budget for the 2012 fiscal year.

“We need to make sure the kids in these programs have a place to go while staying economically sound,” Merrill said. “It’s going to be one of a long line of difficult cuts facing the commissioners.”

 

Meetings set for after school program

The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department will have several public meetings to get citizen’s opinions about the proposal to eliminate its after school program.

In addition to providing comment on the recommendations, those attending will learn about other options and changes to the county’s program, how to apply for financial assistance and what to look for in quality after school or summer programs.

Meetings schedule includes:

–Wednesday, May 4 at the Northdale Recreation Center, 15550 Spring Pine Drive in Tampa

–Wednesday, May 11 at the Ruskin Recreation Center, 901 Sixth St. S.E. in Ruskin

–Saturday, May 14 at University Area Community Center, 14013 N. 22nd St. in Tampa

–Wednesday, May 18 at the Gardenville Recreation Center, 6219 Symmes Road in Gibsonton

–Wednesday, June 1 at University Area Community Center, 14013 N. 22nd St. in Tampa

–Saturday, June 4 at All People’s Life Center, 6105 E. Sligh Ave. in Tampa

–Wednesday, June 8 at the Brandon Community Center, 502 E. Sadie St. in Brandon

All information presented will be the same at each meeting so parents and community partners have the option to attend any of them. For more information on meeting dates and locations, call (813) 635-8110.

*Wednesday meeting are from 6-7 p.m. Saturday meetings are from 10-11 a.m.

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco County has a new library director, seven-year department veteran Nancy Fredericks.

Fredericks replaces Linda Allen, who helped found the system 24 years ago. Allen retired Feb. 4.

Fredericks started working with the Pasco Library System in 2004, the last three years as the E-government services manager. She lives in Port Richey, but has worked at libraries in central and east Pasco as well.

Dan Johnson, assistant county administrator, said of Fredericks’ promotion, “She has shown she can handle almost anything thrown at her during her time with the library system. She has worked in various roles all over the county. I’d say there is no one else who knows more about our libraries than she does.”

Fredericks recently talked with The Laker/Lutz News about becoming the system’s director.

Q: What is it like for you to take over the library system in Pasco?

A: It is very exciting! We have a great library system, and I am looking forward to offering more programs and services to Pasco County residents.

Q: When did your love of books start?

A: I love reading and have since I was a child; however, it was emerging technologies that drew me to librarianship.

Q: What are your favorite books of all time?

A: That is a very difficult question. My favorite books change over time, depending on what I am reading and my interests at any given time. One of the first books I fell in love with while in high school was Watership Down. Currently, I’m reading Freakonomics.

Q: What goals do you have with the department?

A: My goal for Pasco County Library System is to provide excellent services to Pasco County residents.

Q: How does technology fit into providing those services? Electronics seem to be the way libraries are going today.

A: I hope to build a strong and cohesive library team that is flexible and adaptable, which will effectively cope with constantly evolving information technology.

Q: I understand you recently received an award from Library Journal Mover and Shaker for your innovation with technology.

A: I was one of nine from around the country to get the award for technology. That is a tremendous honor for me to be recognized in that way. Not only to be honored by Library Journal Mover, but for technology use especially as that’s the way of the future for libraries.

–For more information on the Pasco Library System, visit pascolibraries.org.

By Kyle LoJacono

In a few years, the land that once raised cattle may serve as a nature park and the critical link between two of Pasco County’s largest wetlands.

The area includes 384 acres of land between US 41 and the Suncoast Parkway just north of SR 52 in Land O’ Lakes. The area is part of the Morsani Ranch and will help connect Starkey Wilderness and Cross Bar nature preserves.

“The purchase was OK’d by the board on April 19,” said Pasco Commissioner Pat Mulieri. “A major portion of the land includes a wildlife corridor and provides open space, protects environmentally sensitive land and owning this allows us to eventually utilize it for activities such as bird-watching.”

The land comes with an $800,000 price tag, or about $2,083 per acre, paid for by Penny for Pasco money. County assistant administrator Michele Baker said 45 percent of the funds generated from the penny program goes to Pasco’s government, and 25 percent of that is used for environment purposes.

“This land was identified in our updated regional environmental strategy in 2000 as one of the critical linkages between preserves,” Baker said. “The strategy recommends connecting these areas to protect the environment in the county. It is one of seven critical linkages we want to eventually buy and make into preserves.”

The Morsani purchase is just the beginning of the process to link Starkey’s 18,000 acres to Cross Bar’s 12,500. The county will still need to buy about 30 miles of land to complete the connection.

“This is the longest of the critical linkages in the county and we’ve got a long way to go,” Baker said. “It is a first step and we’re very lucky to have people like the Morsanis who allowed us to buy the land.”

The Morsanis live in Lutz and nominated their land for the purchase. They have raised cattle and grown hay on the land for many years, but felt selling it for environmental purposes was the right thing to do.

While there are no set plans for the land at this point, Baker said a nature park with boardwalks and other elements to allow people to see the wetland is not out of the question.

“We have to make sure anything we do doesn’t interfere with the connection of the preserves themselves, but there shouldn’t be any problem putting in facilities to allow people to see the natural beauty,” Baker said. “If we fast forward several years, I bet bird-watching could be a popular activity where the ranch is now.”

Other critical linkages in central Pasco would connect Cross Bar with the Connerton Preserve, as well as Connerton with Starkey. The shortest linkage is between Connerton and the Cypress Creek Flood Detention Area in Wesley Chapel. Another would link Starkey with the Brooker Creek Preserve in northern Hillsborough County.

In east Pasco, there is a critical linkage identified between the Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area and the Upper Hillsborough Park, and the last helps connect portions of the Cypress Creek.

For more information on environmental efforts in Pasco, visit the county’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Program’s section of portal.pascocountyfl.net.

 

Bike trail temporarily closed

The Pasco County Parks and Recreation Department has closed Starkey Wilderness Park’s bike trail until May 6 due to repairs being made by Tampa Bay Water. The trail is set to reopen the next day. For more information, call (813) 929-2760.

 

 

 

 

By B.C. Manion

When John Ciani decided he wanted to venture into a new business, he chose something personally satisfying and beneficial to others, not only to himself.

So, he decided to launch Odessa Organic Farmer’s Market, a place where customers can buy organic fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products.

The outdoor business, under a big tent at 8701 Gunn Highway, features locally-grown organic fruits, vegetables and locally-produced dairy products and offers them to customers who come primarily from Keystone, Odessa and nearby communities.

The business offers vegetables grown by Magnolia Farm in Wesley Chapel and fruits and vegetables grown by Parke Family HydroFarms in Dover. It also sells dairy products from The Dancing Goat, a business in northwestern Hillsborough County.

Buying locally allows Ciani to offer competitive prices, he said.

Ciani, who has been in the lawn care business for a couple of decades, said the organic stand represents something he’s passionate about. He wants to bring healthy fruits and vegetables to the local market, and he believes there’s a demand for it, especially among young people, he said.

The stand’s offerings include green onions, lettuce, beets, spinach, bok choy, swiss chard, red peppers, collard greens, squash, cucumbers and other organic vegetables. It also sells a few organic fruits.

Besides being a place where patron can pick up fruits and vegetables, Ciani also wants his stand to become a focal point for community gatherings.

Along those lines, he’s staging his first Odessa Open Market day from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, May 7. He expects more than 20 vendors, including a beer vendor, and there will be live entertainment, Ciani said. Alex’s Southern Style Barbecue, which has a stand on the front part of the property, will also be on hand.

Ciani hopes the occasional open markets will create a place where people from Odessa and Keystone and other nearby communities will gather to shop, enjoy the ambience and socialize.

In the future, Ciani also plans to build a stage on the rear portion of his lot and where he plans to hold concerts.

The market days will be free, but the concerts will have varying charges, Ciani said.

Ciani said he was motivated to launch his business because he’s passionate about offering healthy food choices.

“I have children and grandchildren,” said Ciani, who lives in Lake Magdalene and is a graduate of Chamberlain High.

He hopes his business will develop a strong following and said he is always open to listening to ideas from patrons for ways he can improve it.

“I want it to be for the people of Odessa and Keystone,” he said. “I want it to be comfortable for everyone. If people have suggestions — suggest.”

For more information about the stand’s operating hours or future open markets call Ciani at (813) 944-8654 or email

 

 

If you go

Odessa Open Market, 8701 Gunn Highway

More than 20 vendors, including a beer vendor, live entertainment, Alex’s Southern Style Barbecue.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

More information: (813) 944-8654 or

 

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco Extension Director and horticulture agent B.J. Jarvis has lived in the county for 20 years, but she still remembers having to change the way she thinks about growing plants.

“I grew up in Ohio and I had to reprogram my mind,” Jarvis said. “The seasons are all different. Growing up in the Midwest I would look at catalogs in January and you had a few months to prepare. You didn’t start planting until May. Here if you wait until May it’s too late. You need to look at the time that’s the harshest, which is the winter up North and the summer here.”

Another challenge of being the only horticulture agent in the county is the wide variations of climate from east to west Pasco.

“There is a tremendous microclimates in Pasco County,” Jarvis said. “In Dade City we have a lot of hills and it gets colder. It stays warmer in Land O’ Lakes and central Pasco. So when someone calls, I always ask where are they from. It makes a big difference and unfortunately, not everything is going to do well in our different climates.”

Jarvis has been working with the Pasco extension office for five years. Her passion for horticulture began after a childhood trip to the Cincinnati Zoo.

“I went to a really cool program in high school and we got to plant landscapes and find out which ones could go with the animals,” Jarvis said. “That’s when my love of plants and growing things started. I never could decide to go to the plant or animal side of the natural world, so when I went to college at Ohio State University I did both.”

Jarvis graduated from Ohio State in 1982 and has spent the last 30 years working in horticulture. She worked at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden before coming to Pasco. Her first job in Florida was with the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

“At that time they were starting water restrictions,” Jarvis said. “They didn’t have a horticulturist to make sure what they were mandating would work. I was there for 15 years, but one day I realized I never got to go outside and grow plants and talk to people about them. I heard they were looking for someone in Pasco, and it was the perfect opportunity.”

It is that teaching that keeps Jarvis at her post.

“What really keeps me going is the aha moment,” Jarvis said. “I’ll describe something to someone and they’ll say ‘yes that’s it,’ or you tell someone what to do to fix a problem and it makes sense to them.”

Jarvis is passionate about growing plants, but she is not interested in spending all day with finicky ones.

“I call myself a lazy gardener,” Jarvis said. “There are enough plants that will flourish without a lot of fuss. I do like some high-maintenance plants like roses, but I don’t have a whole bunch of them. I think people over manage a lot of the time and that hurts plants. Often the answer is just stop causing harm and let the plant grow.”

She does get a certain kind of satisfaction from weeding, a chore for most gardeners.

“I find weeding to be very therapeutic,” Jarvis said. “It doesn’t take a lot of mind power and it doesn’t matter if you spend a lot or little time because you made some improvement. I tell my husband sometimes I have to go weeding, and he understands I just need some time. I come back and I’m always in a better mood.”

Jarvis said most of the calls she gets have to do with a bug or disease in plants. She said the mild winters prevent large number of bugs from being killed, and the hot and humid summers are just what diseases need to spread. However, she believes the major problem with most landscaping is too much watering.

“When I moved here only 25 percent of people had irrigation systems and today 75 percent do,” Jarvis said. “One of the biggest problems in their landscape is too much water. Not too little. The stress of too much water attracts bugs, so it’s a double whammy. People see the plant dropping and having problems and they think it needs more water. Over watering is probably the biggest issue people have.”

Jarvis, her husband Randy and their two children, Tory and Craig, live in San Antonio. Tory, a senior at Pasco High, was the grand champion for her azaleas presented at the Pasco Fair in February. Craig, a student at Pasco Middle, also entered several plants in the event.

“I was a very proud mother,” Jarvis said.

For more information on the Extension, call (352) 518-0231, email Jarvis at or visit pasco.ifas.ufl.edu.

 

Jarvis column wins state award

Pasco Extension Director and horticulture agent B.J. Jarvis has been writing columns for The Laker and the Lutz News every other week for about a year. Her work was named the best column done by a horticulture agent in Florida. She heard about the honor on April 8.

“It was great because it’s something I love to do and I got recognized for it,” Jarvis said. “Horticulture agents got to send in some examples and now I move on to the regional competition. It’s nice to know people enjoy what you’ve done.”

 

Origins of Cooperative Extension

The United States Department of Agriculture records that the first semblance of the current Cooperative Extension service goes back to 1862.

That is when The Morrill Act, “established land-grant universities to educate citizens in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts and other practical professions,” according to the departments website www.csrees.usda.gov/index.html.

The idea of the Extension was formalized in 1914 to help spread knowledge gained at universities to farmers to better feed the country.

“The idea was the farmers had questions and the universities had answers and that’s how the name Extension started,” said B.J. Jarvis, Pasco’s Extension director. “The mission is a little different now. It’s more for citizens with questions, but the idea is the same.

“The cool thing about Extension services is it can be customized for the area,” Jarvis continued. “Issues here are a lot different than Miami. Some places have a marine agent, some might have more horticulture agents.”

 

 

 

The class is part of a Habitat for Humanity building program

By Ayana Stewart

At the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store in Zephyrhills, 15 women mingle and chat, waiting for their workshop to begin.

Once the instructor arrives, the talkative women quiet down and quickly transform into a group of attentive students.

They are preparing for Women Build Week 2011, a Habitat for Humanity event that will occur from April 30 to May 8. The goal of the project is to build two homes in Pasco County in less than two weeks. Women from all over the area will gather and work in shifts in order to aid Habitat for Humanity in its efforts.

Larry Bailey, department manager of Lumber and Building Materials at Lowe’s, led the April 26 session. The focus was on installing insulation and drywall in a home. Previous classes have covered safety, framing and siding.

“Does anyone have any experience with drywall?” Bailey asks, hopefully.

He’s met with blank stares.

“I have drywall in my house if that helps,” one woman jokes. The rest of the group giggles.

He starts from scratch, explaining in great detail how drywall and insulation should be measured, cut and hung. Since the workshop focuses on being interactive, he asks for a volunteer to help demonstrate the process.

Patricia Strobridge raises her hand. She listens carefully as Larry explains how to staple the insulation to the wall frame and then takes a turn with the staple gun herself.

The majority of the women have little experience with construction and labor.  The one thing that they share is the desire to make a difference in the community.

Patricia hasn’t been involved with the project long but enjoys herself immensely. “It’s delightful and entertaining,” she said. “It’s a good feeling to help someone else.”

Soporro Burns and Ramona Atkins were chosen as the recipients of the homes that will be built. Both women attend the Lowe’s workshops with their families and will volunteer during Women Build Week.

“I was renting homes on and off and wanted something of my own, so I filled out an application at the Habitat for Humanity office,” Ramona explained. “When I found out that I was chosen, I cried.”

Burns is also filled with gratitude. “I really appreciate everything that Habitat for Humanity is doing. They’ve been wonderful.”

For Crystal Paoloemilio, Stephanie Black and Kaci Wubbena, organizers of Women Build Week, this is what it’s all about. They’ve all been involved with Habitat for Humanity for a number of years and are pleased with the turnout this year.

Women Build Week proves that regardless of age, experience, or gender, it is possible to change a life in your community.

To find out more about the upcoming event or donate to the cause, please visit www.ephabitat.org.

By B.C. Manion

The elementary school children were sitting at a table with a reporter, talking about their idea for powering homes and businesses with energy tapped by a new technology they conceived, called a Solar T.R.E.E. when suddenly a group of adults swooped into the room, armed with video cameras and cameras.

Apparently, something big was happening.

And, indeed it was.

For at that moment, Bridgett Nicholson, of Countryside Montessori Charter School told Catie Tomasello, Achyudhan Kutuva and Eyra Gualtieri that they had won second place in the 19^th annual Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision awards program.

The girls were obviously thrilled, smiling broadly and cheering their success.

Nine-year-old Achyudhan had a question, though: “Who won first place?” he wanted to know.

As a result of their winning entry, the children will receive an all-expense paid trip, along with two family members, to Washington, D.C. in June to celebrate their success. The youngsters each get a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond and will have the chance to meet members of Congress, to sightsee around the nation’s capital and attend a gala awards banquet.

Their teacher-coach, Nicholson, and their parent-mentor Heather Tomasello, also get a free trip to Washington, D.C.

The Countryside Montessori Charter students placed second among kindergarten through third-grade teams in the United States and Canada. The competition is one of the largest kindergarten-12^th grade competitions in the world, drawing thousands of team entries.

The contest selects winners based on how students combine imagination with the tools of scientific research to envision future technologies that could exist in 20 years.

The trio of children began meeting weekly in September, to work on their entry.

First they brainstormed ideas.

“Everybody had to like the idea,” Achyudhan said.

Reaching consensus took a few conversations.

“It took us about three meetings,” said 7-year-old Catie, the youngest member of the team. She acknowledged she initially wasn’t keen on the team’s idea of a Solar T.R.E.E. that would convert sunlight and wind energy into electricity. But she came around to the idea, and, of course, now she’s glad she did.

Heather Tomasello said the contest gives children a chance to learn how to work as collaborators. It also encourages them to use their imagination to come up with concepts that could possibly be executed within a two-decade time frame.

The Solar T.R.E.E. the children envision would have leaves made of nanotubes, protein and purple bacteria that harvest the energy.

The prototype they built obviously doesn’t work. It’s just a physical representation of their idea.

But the children contend their concept would address needed improvements. Today’s solar panels are not efficient, do not repair themselves and don’t capture the energy of wind, they noted.

Their project abstract states that generating electricity creates the most pollution out of any industry in the nation through the burning of coal, which creates greenhouse gases, smog and acid rain.

Their Solar T.R.E.E. would create clean and affordable energy, making it possible for people who live in poor countries to have electric power without a power grid.

Before advancing to the national competition, the Countryside team won the Southeast Regional competition, with each team member receiving a flip camcorder from Toshiba and the school receiving a laptop computer.

The competition gives children a chance to develop the kinds of critical thinking skills that are needed in the 21^st century, said Dennise Ondina, the school principal. Those skills include collaboration, creativity and curiosity, she said.

The competition also taps into a resource that schools sometimes overlook, Ondina said, noting that parents can provide a rich bank of talent to help schools.

For the Tomasellos, winning second place in the competition feels a bit like déjà vu.

Heather Tomasello was the parent-mentor of Catie’s team in 2009 when the team took second place in the competition for their called “The EpiWatch.” The wristwatch they envisioned would deliver life-saving Epinephrine for people suffering from severe allergies.

The watch would alert medical help and held a GPS so responders could locate the person in distress.

All four of the children on that team were being home-schooled at the time.