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Tampa Bay Water awards $50,000 in water conservation and protection mini‑grants to seven regional projects
Summary
Tampa Bay Water announced seven recipients of its 2025 Water Conservation and Protection Mini Grant Program, distributing $50,000 across projects including native‑planting, mobile aquaria exhibits, school curriculum and artivism using upcycled marine debris.
Tampa Bay Water staff announced seven recipients of the upgraded Water Conservation and Protection Mini Grant Program and invited each organization to briefly describe its planned project.
Brandon Moore, Tampa Bay Water's public communications manager, said the program has provided more than $400,000 to community projects since 2008. “At the Board's request last year to expand this program, we increased the available funding this year to $50,000 and we also expanded the program scope to include water conservation projects in addition to source water protection projects,” Moore said.
The board‑approved awards and recipients announced at the meeting were:
- Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation — $3,000 for micro‑irrigation displays and hands‑on workshops at the gardens (presented by Margaret Gates, board member and project manager). Gates said the project will include two monthly displays and micro‑irrigation workshops featuring Florida Friendly Landscaping staff.
- Girl Scouts of West Central Florida — $8,800 for a Camp Waialani Water Conservation Academy at the organization’s Palm Harbor camp (presented by Clara Moll, chief development officer).
- Marine Exploration Center — $8,800 for a mobile marine‑education aquarium with a water‑conservation exhibit targeted at Title I schools and public events (presented by Zachary Ostroff, curator of living exhibits).
- Pasco Education Foundation — $5,000 for watershed education initiatives at the Starkey Environmental Education Center reaching roughly 650 seventh‑grade students (presented by Stacy Capogrosso, president, with Mark Butler of Pasco County schools).
- Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation — $10,000 for “Save Our Water, Save Our Butterflies,” a program combining native‑plant plantings, education and outreach to Title I schools (presented by Anita Camacho, president).
- Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education — $9,700 for a Pinellas County elementary curriculum supplement and teacher workshop reaching an estimated 30,000 students in public and charter schools (presented by Jodi Pushkin).
- Water Warrior Alliance — $5,000 for “Artivism,” an upcycling and community art project that repurposes marine debris into educational materials and 3‑D printer filament (presented by Josh Keller, vice president).
Moore told the board the program received 29 applications requesting more than $225,000; two applications arrived after the deadline and staff evaluated 27 submissions. The selection committee reviewed projects in accordance with Sunshine Law and selected seven projects based on available funding.
Board members invited grant recipients to a group photo following presentations. Several members offered to coordinate with recipients on planting and public‑space projects and to explore joint opportunities with member governments.
