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From Monterey To Cockroach Bay

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By LAURA FRAZIER

lfrazier@tampatrib.com

Published: October 8, 2008

VALRICO - Bradley Jackson made an interesting discovery this summer: It turns out Manta rays gliding through the waters of Monterey Bay in California have a lot in common with hermit crabs skittering on the shores of Cockroach Bay in Ruskin.

The Valrico Elementary School math and science teacher was one of six educators selected and sponsored by the Tampa Bay Rays to participate in a field research project with Earthwatch Institute, a nonprofit environmental group.

This marks the third year the Rays sent a group of local teachers on expeditions with Earthwatch, which relies on volunteers and donors to conduct global research, conservation and education projects.

Jackson spent a week in July getting up close and personal with the rays and sharks of Elkhorn Slough, an estuary off the coast of Monterey Bay. His team's objective was to study the effects of nearby commercial farming on the water, animals and plants.

Strawberry fields planted along the banks of the California estuary reminded Jackson of similar scenarios around Tampa Bay. His thoughts turned to Cockroach Bay, where he takes his students on field trips each year to study marine life and spruce up the shoreline.

There aren't any bat rays or leopard sharks in the Ruskin estuary to worry about, but pesticides and fertilizers that drain into lakes and rivers or leach into groundwater can harm homegrown species such as snook, red drum, horseshoe crabs and seahorses.

"We have the same types of farming," Jackson said, "The students need to understand the big impact pesticides and fertilizers can have on the animals and the food chain."

For now, he said, Cockroach Bay is in good shape.

"It's pretty well protected with mangroves, and we've done a great job, but we need to keep it up," he said.

Jackson plans to use an additional $2,500 grant the Rays program provides each teacher to make recycling a way of life at Valrico Elementary. Each day, the school produces mounds of waste that could be recycled - paper, Styrofoam trays, plastic utensils and milk cartons, to name a few.

"None of these things are recycled yet at our school," he said. "I want to teach the students the importance of protecting our environment and resources in as many ways as we can."

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

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