Tampa Bay Water is offering $20,000 worth of mini-grants to help fund projects and events sponsored by local community groups, non-profit groups, schools and universities that help promote protection of the region’s drinking water sources.
The deadline to apply for the grant is Oct. 31. To qualify, applicants need to provide a plan for a project or event that is related to source water protection in the Tampa Bay Water service area. The program grants funds from $2,000 to $10,000 for community-based activities, including but not limited to, river cleanups, stormwater nature walks, and educational field trips.
“The mini-grant program helps those who are dedicated to protecting our region’s drinking water sources, and it ensures that our ecosystems remain healthy and functioning now and into the future,” said Paula Dye, mini-grant program manager for Tampa Bay Water, in a release. “
Last year, the agency awarded four $5,000 mini-grants that funded projects and events managed by Lowry Park Zoo, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Keep Pasco Beautiful and Friends of Brooker Creek.
Keep Pasco Beautiful ran a poster contest for elementary students that focused on educating them about the importance of protecting drinking water sources. Its Tampa Bay counterpart used its grant to fund its environmental program, which included interactive and educational presentations for elementary through high school students throughout Hillsborough County.
Lowry Park Zoo raised its outflow structure to reduce the amount of wastewater discharge during heavy rain events, playing a role in keeping a Hillsborough River tributary clean.
Friends of Brooker Creek built an exhibit at the Brooker Creek Preserve in Pinellas County. The hands-on exhibit illustrated the elements of the water cycle and how surface and groundwater flows move through the watershed.
Mini-grant applications will be reviewed, with winners notified before the end of 2014 for funds that will be available in 2015.
To apply, visit tinyurl.com/TBWMiniGrant. For information, call Paula Dye at (813) 996-7009.
