An environmental club at a Tampa private school and two friends who organized their own park cleanup were selected as winners in the 2008 “Guardians of the Bay” contest sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

The contest was created to recognize youth 8-14 years old who implement a project in their own homes, schools, neighborhoods or communities that helps to improve Tampa Bay. Both group and individual winners were selected.

The Group Achievement Award went to the Middle Division Environmental Club at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa. Students in the club created the “Bye Bye Baggies” campaign to persuade merchants near the school to consider alternatives to plastic bags for customer purchases. Led by teacher Chris Piccone, the students researched the environmental impacts of plastic bags, identified eco-friendly alternatives and created a brochure summarizing their findings. They also set up appointments with nearby business owners to present their results and promote the use of eco-friendly shopping bags. Contest judges were impressed with the willingness of the students to meet with merchants, the time they invested in researching the issue, and the creative brochure they produced.

The Individual Achievement award was given to Allyson Stanley and Stephanie Dutch, two 8-year-old Tampa friends who decided, on their own, to clean up the small Purity Springs pocket park along the Hillsborough River near Sulfur Springs. The girls, who love to visit the park, became dismayed by the trash left there, and organized their own cleanup with the help of Allyson’s father. They spent an entire morning picking up trash and even used nets to fish broken bottles out of the water. The judges awarded this project because of the initiative the girls showed in tackling the litter problem all on their own. Contest winners were given an award certificate and free tickets donated by Lowry Park Zoo.