Mastenbrook serves as Tampa Bay Watch's Director of Education, who strives to connect children with nature. Tampa Bay Watch is an organization dedicated to fostering a healthy Tampa Bay watershed through community-driver restoration projects, education programs, and outreach initiatives. Since its inception, Tampa Bay Watch has impacted over 42,000 students and teachers. Mastenbrook helps reinforce classroom learnings into tactile, hands-on field trips, opening up a world of discovery to students across the bay.
The grant tonight will be used to support Tampa Bay Watch's large-scale environmental education program, Estuary EDventures. This program teaches children about the watershed, environmental issues, and our marine environments. The funding will help offset the costs, thus allowing Tampa Bay watch to provide some services free of charge for those who otherwise couldn't afford it. Additionally, funding will support the strategic expansion of Auer Marine Education Center in Tierra Verde through curriculum development and the renovation of their wet lab to expand the capacity of programs. This will provide a more dynamic and interactive teaching space for children involved in their programming.
Mastenbrook became the 484th Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the Lightning Community Hero program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through tonight's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $25.3 million to more than 600 unique nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2021, the Viniks announced the community hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.
