The St. Johns River Water Management District’s (SJRWMD) Blue School Grant Program is awarding up to $60,000 this 2025-26 school year to support hands-on, water-focused STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects for kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms.  

The Blue School Grant Program awards up to $3,000 per teacher or school, and supports STEM projects, equipment, supplies, field trips and more.

From aquaponics systems to water quality testing and environmental field trips, these grants help students get in touch with real-world science and become future water stewards.

“The Blue School Grant gives teachers the tools to engage students in real world learning about water quality, conservation and protection,” Danielle FitzPatrick, SJRWMD media coordinator, said in a July 29 phone interview with The Apopka Chief. “The goal is really to create hands-on experiences so the students remember they are our future water stewards, and so we want them to be empowered and protect and preserve our water resources for the future.”

Since 2016, over 115 projects have been funded, supporting 85 schools and benefiting more than 15,000 students, FitzPatrick said.

Last year’s budget was $60,000, with some money left over, and SJRWMD aims to award all funds this year to support teachers in educating students about Florida’s water resources, FitzPatrick said.

“So this year we’re making we really want to award every dollar to teachers who are helping students connect with the importance of Florida’s water resources,” FitzPatrick said.

Hai-Anh Nguyen, a math teacher at Wekiva High School, has received the Blue School Grant money five times since 2016 to build and maintain an aquaponics garden on the school site.

The aquaponics garden includes raised beds using fish waste, rainwater harvesting systems, and a butterfly garden. Half of the system was converted to saltwater for growing red mangroves in partnership with UCF’s Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab.

The frequency of SJRWMD representatives visiting schools that have received Blue School grants is not based on a schedule but depends on the schools contacting SJRWMD, FitzPatrick said. The last time St. Johns representatives visited Wekiva High School aquaponics garden was in March 2024, she added.

“If there’s a field trip or, in Ms. Nguyen’s case, a classroom learning experience going on, then we try to make an effort to get out there if we can,” FitzPatrick said.

When asked what the most unique STEM projects a school has applied to the Blue School Grant Program for, FitzPatrick said Nguyen’s aquaponics garden was one of them, given the Wekiva High School educator’s background as a math teacher.

“Most of the time it’s science teachers who apply for these projects, but I think she just shows that you can be any kind of teacher and incorporate water resources in your teaching,” FitzPatrick said.

FitzPatrick illustrated another interesting project that was funded by the Blue School Grant: A teacher from Wedgefield K-8 School in Orlando partnered with Four Roots Farms, also in Orlando, to teach students about sustainable gardening and water conservation.

The Apopka Chief was unable to reach Nguyen for comment by deadline.

The Blue School Grant application window opened on Friday, Aug. 1, and will continue until Sept. 21 at 11:59 p.m.

Grantees are notified at the end of October, funds would be awarded in early January 2026, project activity period would take place from January to June 1, 2026, and final report and documentation are due to SJRWMD by June 1 at 5 p.m., according to the SJRWMD Blue School Grant website.