Students Rise to the Challenge

Student teams in Jersey City, N.J. and Honolulu, Hawaii have something special to celebrate. That’s because they emerged from a talented field of challengers as the $75,000 grand-prize winners in the Lexus Environmental Challenge, a national competition designed by Lexus and Scholastic, the publishing, education and media company, to educate and empower teens to think big about making a positive impact on the environment.

In addition to the two grand-prize winners, 14 first-place teams won $50,000 each. In all, more than $1 million in grants and scholarships was awarded throughout the seven-month-long environmental education program and contest.

Perhaps you regular Open Roadies recall that back in November, we posted a piece about this program. You can read it by clicking here. In a nutshell, it consisted of two elements: The first involved educational material that encouraged middle- and high-school teachers to integrate lesson plans into their classrooms to help teach students about the environment.

The second invited students to use what they learned in class to participate in four challenges, each of them addressing a different environmental element – land, water, air and climate. Teams of five to 10 students would define an issue, devise a plan to address the issue, implement the plan and then report on the results.

The 55 winning teams from the first four challenges – some teams were repeat winners - were invited to participate in the Final Challenge.

And now we can tell you a bit about the winning projects.

Both winning entries demonstrate how a small group can make a big impact. "The Climate Academy" team, made of five 6th graders from Academy I Middle School in Jersey City, created a campaign called, "Clean Cities Make Clean Oceans." Their program included educating all students in Jersey City public schools about the impact of litter and pollution on the ocean. They also raised awareness by stenciling the words "Dump No Waste: Drains to Ocean" on storm drains near schools throughout the city.

"The Dream Team" from W.R. Farrington High School in Honolulu focused on educating people around the world about the benefits of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines, solar panels, fuel cells and hydropower. The team, composed of eight students, created videos, blogs and a Web site in multiple languages and used social media web sites to help spread the word.

These two teams were recognized in Earth Day ceremonies at their respective schools. In addition to the scholarship and grant money, each team’s school will receive a custom-designed sculptural cistern to promote water conservation. This unique award will serve as a reminder of each team’s outstanding accomplishment as well as a sustainable way to collect rainwater so it can be reused for watering plants on the school’s campus.

The 14 first-place teams are:

Atlanta, Ga. – "Westminster CCC3" – The Westminster Schools

Baldwin Park, Calif. – "The Ones Who Care" – Sierra Vista High School

Bryn Mawr, Penn. – "The Green Gators" – The Shipley School

Chicago, Ill – "Earth Warriors" - Madero Middle School

Holladay, Utah – "Radon Awareness Group" - Olympus Junior High

Holladay, Utah – "Save Our Fresh Water" - Olympus Junior High

Holladay, Utah – "The Treehuggers" - Olympus Junior High

La Crescenta, Calif. – "Marine Science Researchers" - Clark Magnet High School

Lake Charles, La. – "St. Margaret Science Club" – St. Margaret Catholic School

Newberry, Fla. – "Newberry Environmental Girls" - Newberry High School

New Hyde Park, NY – "The Elementals" – Herricks High School

New Hyde Park, NY – "Vampire Exterminators" – Herricks High School

Torrance, Calif. – "L.I.F.E" - South High School

Wilmington, NC – "Team Earth" – Lyceum Academy of New Hanover High School

Congratulations to them all for a job well done.

- Nancy Hubbell, Lexus Communications