Pinellas County students at 12 schools will study the issues surrounding our freshwater resources thanks to Splash! school grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

The Pinellas County awardees are:

Irene Seybold, Cross Bayou Elementary, $3,000 Christoper Cartier, Eisenhower Elementary, $2,900 Leigh Loveland, Forest Lakes Elementary, $2,998 Jennifer Shuman, Frontier Elementary, $3,000 Leslie Pohley, Largo Middle, $2,810 Natasha Coles, Madeira Beach Fundamental Elementary, $2,976

Ted Anderson, New Heights Elementary, $3,000 Carla March, Ozona Elementary, $1,800 Denise Johnson, Pasadena Fundamental Elementary, $2,998 Donna Blanton, Pinellas Park Elementary, $2,875 Mistie Meditz, Skyview Elementary, $2,470 Megan Barnitz, Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle, $2,030

The goal of the Splash! school grant program is to provide teachers with funding to enhance student knowledge of topics that meet the District’s core mission and teach students about their local watersheds, water conservation, quality and supply. Splash! school grants provide up to $3,000 per school on a reimbursement basis and are available to public school teachers.

This year, 94 Splash! grants were awarded across the District’s 16-county region to educate students on water resources. Past Splash! grant projects include student monitoring of local water quality, environmental field studies and school or community outreach campaigns designed to encourage water conservation.