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photo for Tropical Breeze courtesy of Wayne Mineo Daniel Mineo’s Eagle Scout project has won recognition as a “Guardian of the Bay.”

An Eagle Scout, a Girl Scout troop, and three school classes were honored as winners of Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s first “Guardians of the Bay” contest.

The contest was created to recognize kids 8-14 years old who implement a project in their own homes, schools, neighborhoods or communities that helps to improve Tampa Bay. TBEP received 12 entries in the inaugural contest, and plans to hold the competition annually.

The 2007 “Guardians of the Bay” winners are:

Mineo was awarded for his Eagle Scout project that involved building owl boxes, planting trees and installing plant identification signs at Marshall Street Park in Safety Harbor.

Girl Scout Troop 1166, Palm Harbor

The Scouts, ages 8-10, designed and planted a butterfly garden at John Chesnut Park. They applied for grant money for supplies, installed educational signs, planted the garden and painted decorations for it. Judges were especially impressed with the girls’ innovative use of riddles on the informational signs to capture the interest and curiosity of visitors to the garden.        

This winning project involved the entire school in a friendly “Wicked Weed of the Week” competition to eradicate invasive plants on the school’s extensive property. Led by gardening instructor Summer Solomon, the school incorporated lessons about the harmful impacts of invasive species into class curriculum and classes vied with each other to see who could collect and dispose of the greatest number of invasive plants.

Judy Alvarez, Teacher, and her 5th Grade Class at Lutz Elementary School

5th graders expanded on a class project through the Suncoast Earthforce program to create a dog park for the Lutz community. Their winning project used the dog park as a vehicle to teach about the harmful impacts of pet waste on area waterways. The students created and installed pet waste bag dispensers in adjacent neighborhoods to make it easy for pet owners to pick up after their dogs, both inside and outside the dog park.

Students completed a Suncoast Earthforce project focusing on native plants and animals in the Tampa Bay watershed. The students applied for grant money for their project, grew native plants in a school nursery, and raised money for transportation to Crystal Springs Preserve where the students planted their plants in a natural setting. They also designed and produced a coloring book about Florida plants and wildlife to teach about the value of native habitats.

The next Guardians of the Bay contest will be held in spring 2008. Deadline for entries is Friday, April 18.