Drop by Drop Water Resource Educational Trip Grant Options
2016-2017 Grant Cycle
Field trips requested from the list below will be given a higher priority. However, selection of one of the
trips bellows does not guarantee approval of grant funds. A teacher may request a trip option other
than those listed below; but a lesson plan must be submitted with the grant request to show how the trip
will fit with the curriculum path.
1) Hickory Point Recreational Facility* – SR 19 Tavares. This 68-acre multi-use LCWA facility
presents a unique recreational waterfront park experience. The facility is located on SR 19
adjacent to Little Lake Harris. Popular activities for park guests of all ages include a nature
boardwalk & trail, outdoor picnic areas with barbecue grills, a playground, horseshoe pits, sand
volleyball court, swimming beach, and open-field play areas. With a fishing pier and 12 boat
ramps, the facility is open 24 hours a day for fishing and boating access. Guests are invited to
reserve space in the large screened pavilion to hold birthday and anniversary parties, indoor
picnics, family reunions, and meetings.
a. Station rotations may include: Macro invertebrate dip netting, boardwalk hike with
wetland flora and fauna id, leaf rubbings and leaf id scavenger hunt, water sampling (pH
and secchi disc), fish seining, water cycle journey, aquifer and watersheds, soil profiles.
2) Crooked River Preserve* – Lake Louisa Rd, Clermont. This 64-acre LCWA preserve protects a
beautiful undisturbed section of waterfront on Lake Louisa, as well as frontage along the
Palatlakaha River as it flows north from the lake. A parking area/trailhead and trails allow for
passive recreation and exploration of the remnant sandhill plant community and wetlands.
a. Station rotations may include: Macro invertebrate dip netting, uplands hike with flora
and fauna id, gopher tortoises, water sampling (pH and secchi disc), fish seining, water
cycle journey, aquifer and watersheds, soil profiles.
3) Bourlay Historic Nature Park* – Canal Street, Leesburg. This 88-acre LCWA park is an important
part of Leesburg’s History. This property is the site of the first steamboat landing, the first
Methodist service and was previously owned by the Lee family. Visitors not only can visit a
“shot-gun” style Cracker House, but also go birding and view Lake Griffin from the lakeside trails.
a. Station rotations may include: History of Leesburg/Lake Griffin area, trail hike, native
plant discovery, water cycle journey, aquifer and watersheds, soil profiles.
4) Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Garden– Sanford, Staff at the Zoo will incorporate a
freshwater resource element upon request.
a. 5th grade curriculum Cycles in Nature will take your fifth grade students on an exciting
quest into the Zoo to explore how environmental changes and differences between
individual animals and plants allows some to survive and reproduce while others die or
move to new locations. Students will travel behind the scenes to ZooLab where they will
meet live animals to learn how animals display adaptations that enable them to survive
in different environments and have different life cycles, behaviors and physical
characteristics. An exploration of ZooLab pond with microscopes will bring to light the
diversity of living organisms and how surface water is an integral part of the water cycle
and is connected to all of the Earth's water reservoirs.
b. 4th grade curriculum Processes of Life. This interactive fourth grade program students
will travel behind the scenes and out into the Zoo on an exciting journey into the
processes of life! ZooLab is where they will meet live animals up close as they study how
energy from the sun is transferred along the food chain and how animal behaviors are
shaped by heredity and learning. They will interact with our giant Earth ball as they
recognize that the Earth revolves around the Sun in a year and how humans need both
renewable and nonrenewable resources found on our planet. They will explore the Zoo
in search of Florida native animals and plants to discover how seasonal changes can
affect them and discover how plants, animals and humans can impact the environment
5) Florida Scrub Jay Trail - Monte Vista Rd, Clermont, FL. The Florida Scrub Jay Trail is located on
15 lakefront acres of diverse habitat dedicated to preserving Florida’s indigenous wildlife
featuring Florida’s only endemic bird, the Florida scrub- jay. The facility features a boat launch
(paddling, rowing and electric motors only), fishing pier, shaded outdoor classroom, 1.5 miles of
nature and birding trails ranging from upland sandhill scrub to lakefront to wet marsh. A
recently acquired waif gopher tortoise is located in a compound for frequent tortoise viewing
opportunities. Eight Sicilian miniature donkeys are in residence for equine therapy and comic
relief.
a. Station rotations may include: Hands-on Aquifer Model study integrated into the water
cycle; Hands-on testing of lake water for pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrogen,
etc. and effects on water quality; Trail walk to identify plants and animals and their
interdependence; Hands-on microscopic study of lake water to identify microorganisms; Role playing of community members to make decisions about invasive plants
and animals in the community; Catch and release fishing with rod and reel and live bait
from the pier.
6) Wekiva Springs State Park – Wekiva Springs Rd, Apopka. Wekiwa Springs State Park (WSSP),
Rock Springs Run State Reserve (RSRSR), and Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park (LWRPSP)
– collectively known as the Wekiva River Basin State Parks (WRBSP) – are located in Lake,
Orange, and Seminole Counties, approximately 20 miles northwest of Orlando. The parks cover
more than 41,000 acres and provide a natural corridor for wildlife extending all the way north to
the Ocala National Forest.
a. Station rotations: Nature Center , Anatomy of a Spring, Wet to Dry Trail, Ecosystem
Restoration using Prescribed Burns
*LCWA preserve field trips will offer custom programs for each grade level with a focus on our water
resources. Students will use tools and their senses to discover diversity and variation in plants and
animals. Learn the differences between living and non-living and that living things have needs and those
needs must be met for the living thing to survive. Students will see how the amount and quality of water
impacts a plant or animal’s habitat.