Teachers get grants for water studies

Nine Pasco County teachers have received grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District to teach students about freshwater conservation and related topics. In all, Pasco schools are receiving $21,576 in Splash! program grants. The grants, which are available to public, charter and private school teachers, provide as much as $3,000 a school. The water management district, known as Swiftmud, awarded 157 grants across the 16 counties it serves, though funding cuts have dropped the grant amounts from a maximum of $5,000 a school. The list of Pasco teachers receiving grants: Gloria Mouw of Centennial Middle School will receive $2,998. Students will discover how different plants adapt to nutrients and growing mediums. Karen Stewart of Charles S. Rushe Middle School will receive $2,990. Students will study freshwater resources and monitor the water quality of campus ponds and wells. Kristina Samples of Double Branch Elementary School will receive $1,520. Students will choose appropriate plants, design planters, measure rain barrel water use and test water quality in a school garden. Donna Hoague-Koljeski of Energy and Marine Center will receive $2,675. Students will use a watershed model and create posters, learning about watershed pollution and how it affects estuaries. Mary Lou Jordan of Moore Mickens Education Center will receive 2,109. Students will plant and cultivate drought-tolerant and native plants, learning about Florida-friendly plants, water conservation and wetlands. Jean Knight of Pasco Environmental Programs will receive $3,000. Students will collect data in the field to be uploaded on the Pasco Water Web for use by all Pasco County students. Lisa Decker of Quail Hollow Elementary School will receive $2,040. Students will participate in a field study to learn about freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. Laine Smith of River Ridge High School will receive $2,831. Students will build a small estuary habitat and also create an unhealthy habitat for comparison. Margaret Higgins of Shady Hills Elementary School will receive $1,413. Students will learn about the water cycle, watersheds, the aquifer and water pollution through container gardening and rainwater measurement.