TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Ecological Lessons Grow In Garden

ADVERTISEMENT

By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

cpastor@tampatrib.com

Published: December 10, 2008

LUTZ - The garden in front of Martinez Middle School beautifies an otherwise unremarkable plot of land, but when science teacher Jane Gucciardo sees it, she sees an opportunity to educate the community about the environment.

Gucciardo and her students planted the garden in the 2006-07 school year, and every year since they have added to the greenery and related projects. The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored her for it last month.

Swiftmud spotlighted 26 projects, including Gucciardo's and two others from Hillsborough County, at its watershed education conference. The district meets every two years and chooses projects from a two-year period.

Gucciardo said her goal was to create a project that raised watershed awareness. She and a group of students formed an after-school club to focus on the Brooker Creek watershed, which encompasses 39 square miles.

Students started by studying what plants grew well in Florida and, with the help of parents, landscaped a grassy circle by a school parking lot. They posted water conservation tips on the Martinez Web site and developed computer and three-dimensional demonstrations to take to community meetings.

Students also designed stencils telling people not to pollute the watershed and got permission to spray-paint the designs near storm sewers.

Last year, Gucciardo reached out to fourth-graders from McKitrick who were studying Florida's environment. Classes visited Martinez, and the middle school students planned a garden scavenger hunt, a puppet show on the watershed and helped the younger children create books about the garden.

This year Gucciardo hopes to take her class to the Brooker Creek Preserve to take photos and write an adventure story based on them. The students will present it to fourth-graders when they visit in the spring.

Gucciardo said she appreciated the Swiftmud recognition but gets the most enjoyment seeing her students blossom into environmental leaders.

"I'm most proud of the kids and what they take away from it," Gucciardo said.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT