Gaither High School Teacher Wins Grant For Water Study

A Gaither High School teacher will receive $1,600 for a project focused on studying the health of Hillsborough River and the surrounding watershed.

Jennifer Fritz, a Gaither teacher, was one of 34 Hillsborough educators to receive a Splash! grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Each year the agency awards grants to teachers across the district's 16-county region to educate students on water resources. Splash! grant projects include student monitoring of local water quality, environmental field studies and school or community outreach campaigns designed to encourage water conservation.

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With the money, Fritz will have students visit Crystal Springs Preserve to test water quality and gather biological samples to study the health of the Hillsborough River and the surrounding watershed, according to a press release from SWFMD.

This year, 94 Splash! grants were awarded in total.

In addition to Splash! grant funding, the District offers free teacher professional development workshops and curriculum materials. The publications are correlated to Florida’s Next Generation Sunshine State Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards and can be ordered on the District’s website at WaterMatters.org/publications/.

To learn more about Splash! grants go to their website