Report a bloom Log a test

About us

Students helping neighbors test their water and keep algae out.

Algae Aware Initiative is a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit started at Trinity Preparatory School in Central Florida, with 50+ student members. We build water test kits, share what people find on the Water Atlas, and teach how rain carries fertilizer into lakes.

Get involved Read the kit guide
A finished AAI kit on its green drawstring bag: a sample bottle, black gloves, the QR card, the strip card, and clear bags labeled Barley Straws, Bacteria Tab, Biochar Pouch and Test Strips.
A finished kit: test strips and the strip card, a sample bottle, gloves, the QR card, and three action items.

Our mission

“Creating kits to fight harmful algal blooms and protect Earth's waterways, one community at a time.”

Only rain down the drainFilamentous algae, magnified

Follow the water

  1. Every storm drain leads somewhere.

    Follow one rainstorm through a Florida neighborhood. On a dry day, fertilizer, grass clippings and pet waste leave nitrogen and phosphorus on lawns and streets.

  2. Then the rain comes.

    Stormwater sweeps those nutrients off driveways and gutters and into the nearest storm drain.

  3. There’s no treatment plant in between.

    Most storm drains carry runoff straight to a pond, lake or river through an underground pipe.

  4. Too much of a good thing.

    Algae need nutrients. Given too much, they can bloom: clouding the water, using up oxygen and, in some blooms, producing toxins.

  5. That’s why we test.

    Repeated nitrate, phosphate and pH readings show where nutrients are building up, and where changes on land could help.

    The science, from the U.S. EPA
Skip

26%of the nitrogen reaching groundwater around Wekiwa and Rock springs comes from lawn fertilizer. That is the part of the problem each of us can change at home.

Source: Florida DEP, Wekiwa Spring and Rock Springs Basin Management Action Plan, 2018.

The kit

What's in a kit

Test the water near your home, then use your kit to help keep algae out.

Open the kit guide

Test

Shows what's in the water.

  • Sample bottle 4 oz (about 120 mL). Holds the water you test.
  • Test strips 2 each of nitrate, phosphate, and pH. Keep them sealed and dry.
  • Gloves 1 pair of black nitrile gloves. Wear them when you touch the water.
  • QR card and strip card The QR card opens this page. The strip card shows which strip is which and the colors to match.

Act

Helps keep algae from growing.

  • Barley straw pouch White mesh bag of pellets.
  • Bacteria tab 1 white tablet in a labeled bag.
  • Biochar pouch Gray cloth bag.
  • Drawstring bag Green bag that holds it all. Keep it and reuse it.

Our story

It started with one question: why is the water green?

  1. Where it began

    A question at Trinity Prep

    Why does the water turn green? A few students started asking, and then started building tools to find out.

  2. Learning with SERV

    Seminole County's Education, Restoration and Volunteer program visited our school to explain how they check water, including the Secchi disk.

    Sample bottles, SERV leaflets, cord, and a Secchi disk on a classroom bench
    Tools from SERV's visit, including a Secchi disk.

  3. Friends of the Wekiva River

    We presented our kits and ideas to the board, and we're exploring how students can help with monitoring, education, and care for the river.

  4. Now

    First kits, in small batches

    We're putting the first kits together in small batches and improving the kit guide as we go.

    Biochar, barley straw pellets, and bacteria packets laid out on a table
    Your kit's barley pouch, bacteria tab, and biochar pouch are for your own property, like a backyard pond, fountain, or downspout. Never put them in a lake, river, spring, or other public waterway. See pages 9 to 11 of the kit guide.

Our team

Students at Trinity Prep

More than 50 students are members. Questions about your kit, or want to work with us? Email us.

Get involved

Email the team

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