Each year, $50,000 in Make a Splash grants is awarded to community groups working to protect our environment. Read more about the work they have done to protect and restore water quality in Tacoma. View
2011,
2010,
2009,
2007,
2006,
2005,
2004 and
2003.
Tacoma Pierce County Health Department – 2009 Children’s Water Festival
$2,500
The Tacoma-Pierce County Children’s Water Festival is an annual event dedicated to educating and motivating fifth-graders to care for our water resources. At the 2009 Children’s Water Festival, to be held at Pacific Lutheran University, more than 1,300 students will learn about water conservation and protection through a wide variety of interactive educational presentations including hand-on classroom activities, large group activities, outdoor activities, and a trip through the “Expo Hall.” For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Michelle Cox, mcox@tpchd.org or (253) 798-7683.
Gene Foster – Joe’s Creek Watershed Signs
$175
Creation of identification signs where Joe’s Creek passes under the Northshore Parkway to continue the excellent sequence of signs installed by the City of Federal Way from north of the Parkway through the Woodridge Ravine under Hoyt Road to Lake Lorene. For more information, contact Gene Foster, gfoster@harbornet.com or (253) 943-9090.
Puget Creek Restoration Society – Puget & Mason Creeks: Restoration, Study, & Community Awareness
$2,500
Eradication of invasive plant species and replanting with native vegetation in the Puget Creek Watershed as well as conducting macro-invertebrate sampling in Puget and Mason creeks. Conducting a Watershed Conference for local community members, students, businesses and others to attend so they can understand why the restoration work in Puget Creek is important and what is happening there in relation to the Puget Sound. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Scott Hansen, pugetcreek@yahoo.com or (253) 779-8890.
Citizens for a Healthy Bay – Adopt-A-Wildlife Area Habitat Stewardship Program
$2,500
Expansion of the Adopt-A-Wildlife Area (AAWA) program; continuing to add to the community-wide vision of a healthy, sustainable corridor of near shore and upland habitat for the benefit of migrating salmonids and other native flora and fauna. The program will allow students access to a living laboratory while providing training on the monitoring and maintenance of their adopted restoration site. Students will learn the value of environmental education while gaining skills in the collection of science-based data, plant identification, and the eradication of invasive species. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Jeanine Riss, jriss@healthybay.org or (253) 383-2429.
Proctor Farmers Market – Rain Catchment Project
$1,341
Installation and maintenance of a 350-gallon cistern off an alley adjacent to the Market site. The cistern will collect and store rainwater from neighboring roofs. This conserved water will be used by the Market’s flower and plant vendors and will also be used for market clean-up. The project will include several educational components, allowing us to educate Market patrons about water conservation and the problems of pollution from stormwater runoff. For more information, contact Felicity Devlin, felicitydevlin@yahoo.com or (253) 761-8066.
Kathleen Brassill – D Street Rain Gardens
$2,500
Creation of two rain gardens on a private level lot 10 feet away from the residential house and away from utilities for the purpose of capturing runoff, preventing pollution and protecting and restoring surface water resources. For more information, or to view the rain garden, contact Kathleen Brassill, handcraftedholidays@yahoo.com or (253) 476-3040.
Bryant Montessori Middle School – Swan Creek Study
$2,390
Continue with and expand upon a project-based hydrology and stream ecology class for middle school students with an emphasis on watershed stewardship. In 2008-2009, participants will take trips to Swan Creek and have additional hands-on activities and instruction, assisted by the addition of permanent microscopes in the classroom. Interested students will train to be Swan Creek rangers and will help with Friends of Swan Creek events as knowledgeable guides on the creek. The final phase of the project will be a variety of presentations to the community by the students concerning their activities and motivating others to become involved. For more information, contact Wynne Brown, wbrown1@tacoma.k12.wa.us or (253) 571-1383.
Lutheran Community Services – Quarterly Environmental Impact Page
$2,500
An educational campaign in newsprint media targeting seniors. Development of a quarterly newspaper covering seasonally appropriate tips, suggestions and methods that seniors can use to help protect surface water with the goal being to increase environmental awareness about water quality issues. For more information, contact Bonnie Dickson, bdickson@lcsnw.org or (253) 722-5687.
Friends of Buckley Gulch – Gulch Clean Up – Phase III
$2,500
A neighborhood group effort that focuses on removing debris and invasive plants from Buckley Gulch. The funding will provide debris removal equipment such as a rented truck, dump fee for debris, invasive plant removal and the purchase of native plants for revegetation. Their restoration efforts will center on the stretch of gulch from North 16th Street and North Junett Street to North 19th Street and North Oakes Street. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Rich Arneson, richarneson@harbornet.com or (206) 949-4816.
Puget Sound Car Wash Association – Charity Car Wash Mailing
$1,400
Campaign to educate nonprofit groups in the City of Tacoma about the negative environmental impact of parking lot car wash fundraisers and offer the PSCWA ticket Car Wash Fundraiser as an alternative. For more information, contact Elly Snow, carwashassoc@qwest.net or (206) 622-8425.
Tacoma Nature Center – Water Sleuths IV
$2,460
The Water Sleuths IV program makes field trips to the Tacoma Nature Center available for Tacoma school classrooms. This program focuses on using the inquiry method and emphasizes a holistic approach to a student’s role in the watershed. This year’s program will be targeted toward schools that have not been able to participate previously. Additionally, organizers anticipate developing a presenting an outreach program to supplement the field trip experience and increase student learning. This will be delivered to each class participating in the program. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Michele Cardinaux, michele@tacomaparks.com or (253) 591-6439.
Tacoma Nature Center – Nature Center Self-Guided Tour Program II
$1,410
This program includes pre- and post-trip activities, onsite curriculum, and equipment that groups can use while they are onsite. This grant will provide for mandatory training for group leaders to ensure that the facilities and equipment are being used correctly and to maximize student learning. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Michele Cardinaux, michele@tacomaparks.com or (253) 591-6439.
University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History – Photographic Macroinvertebrate Key
$2,500
Creation of a photographic atlas of the most common aquatic macroinvertebrates encountered in south Puget Sound streams to be used in stream health assessments by students and nonprofit groups. The photos, an accompanying identification key, protocols for stream sampling and calculating the B-IBI, as well as text explaining the biology of the macroinvertebrates and what they tell us about water quality will be made accessible online through the Slater Museum of Natural History website. This resource will be used by middle school, high school and college classes in the local area as well as by volunteers. A set of voucher specimens to supplement the online material will also be created. For more information, contact Peter Wimberger, wimbo@ups.edu or (253) 879-2784.
Tahoma Audubon Society/Green Tacoma Partnership – GTP Brochures
$1,317
Design and produce Green Tacoma Partnership outreach brochures (tri-fold color brochures) to be handed out at community fairs, farmers markets and other outreach events throughout the coming year. The brochures will explain the purpose of the GTP, a list of partners, website and contact information, and educational information and graphics on the value of native plants and threats from invasive plant species and the values of healthy urban forests, including the benefits to water quality. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Krystal Kyer, kkyer@tahomaaudubon.org or (253) 232-9978.
St. Charles Borromeo Parish School – Water Quality Education for Kids
$2,500
Water quality related field trips for kids from pre-school through sixth grade. Preschoolers through second grade will go to the Nature Center at Snake Lake while grades three through six will visit Titlow Beach at low tide. A Nature Center staff person will provide outreach visits at the school for kindergarten through sixth grade prior to the field trips. The Pierce Stream Team Coordinator will visit the fifth-graders and lead them on two field trips to Swan Creek. Visits by EnviroChallenger staff will also be included as part of this program. Fifth- through eighth-graders will also participate in a field services learning event with the Stream Team, Citizens for a Healthy Bay, or the Puget Creek Restoration Society. For more information, contact Patrick Feist, info@stcharlesb.org or (253) 564-5185.
Allen Renaissance Incorporated – Runoff in Wapato Lake
$2,500
Allen Renaissance Inc.’s Clever program in math, science, engineering and technology desire to undertake discovery leaning about the “Runoff in Wapato Lake.” They will explore what happens when we change out oil on our curbs, wash our scars in our streets, use pesticides on our lawns, and allow animal waste to remain on the ground. They will discover how we can change our habits to change our environment. For more information, or to get involved with this program, contact Luversa Sullivan, sullivlulu@yahoo.com or (253) 383-8775.
E-mail contact for this page: Community Relations