SUSTAINABILITY AWARD – Outstanding Environmental Education Program w/ Proven Track Record of 5 or more years!
Captain Samuel Brown Elementary School, MA The school programs are aimed to make the school environmentally sustainable by growing their own food at their Garden Club. Analyzing weather techniques to predict atmospheric conditions in the area. And Community service programs to help educate about environmental issues such as recycling, repurposing and climate change.
How Low Can You Go Challenge Broward County, FL The intension of this project is energy efficiency and reduction. The students called DMS Chillers go from classroom to classroom looking for ones that have left their lights on. If it is on they put up signs on the door that say” you have been chilled” to remind them to shut them off the next time.
Hubbardston Center School Composting and Organic Gardening Program, MA Since 2005 these students have been learning how composting and organic gardening can reduce greenhouse emissions and increase conservation of our natural resources
Miss Lori Fafard, Whitin Elementary School, MA Began the Not GOING Green, but STAYING Green Program. Miss Fafard has won the State Environmental Award in the 1980’s and she is still working to teach and work to preserve the environment. She is recently taken on the “NO STRAW” challenge to teach her children to give up straws in the lunchroom.
The Wild Center, NY The Adirondack Youth Climate Program is a year round project that engages youth ages 14-21 across Northern New York State to take action in their schools and communities regarding climate change. Topics ranch from youth leadership, climate justice, school gardening, energy efficiency, recycling, and waste management.
Outstanding School-led Project in Climate Action
Yadav Bhandari, Nepal [International] Save the Planet A Green Zone project is an initiative to make the school green in the participation of school’s students. This project cover 5000 schools within ten years and declared 5000 green zone throughout the nation.
Sanborn Zero Waste Team And the Children of Sanborn Elementary Schools, MA Food Rescue Initiative and Recycling Program at The Sanborn Zero-Waste Team together with the Sanborn Elementary School, Andover MA, are involved in the daily collection of unwanted, untouched, healthy food and has that food redirected away form the trash, and the town incinerator and redistributed to those less fortunate in the community of Andover.
Jayne Stevenson, Roots and Shoots & iMatter, MN Jayne Stevenson is a leader & organizer for the Roots and Shoots Club at the St. Louis Park High School. The club connected with iMatter last year, and began planning an iMatter Now campaign in their city. The group has already gathered over 500 youth signatures from their high school classmates, and created a Youth Climate Report Card for St. Louis Park, and presented it to the St. Louis Park City Council, for Climate Inheritance Resolution.
Outstanding School-led Project in Water Innovation
Sara Brooks-Long and Terra Hazen, Petaluma Junior High School, CA As part of the ecology unit, almost 300 students conducted a biodiversity study of “our Front Lawn”. A “Mulch Madness Project” that was the vision of two 7th grade science teachers, Sara Brooks-Long and Terra Hazen.
Dhanam Sivalingam, Tamil Nadu, India [International] Save the Water Save the Life… A program that is meant to teach how to save water and it was said through various programs like really walk for water and cultural. “Save our Natural Resources be an “earthen”.
Outstanding Commitment to Green-o-vation [GREEN + STEM + Innovation]
Bartram Wellness Warriors, Bartram High School, PA An intrepid group of four students who wanted to change the lives of their peers, parents, staff and community. They built gardens at the school, using donations, they reached out to partners for supplies to make a difference in the communities riddled with crime, unemployment, poverty and violence. They engineered techniques soil content, plotting the height and depth of the gardens and consideration of access to water resources and weather conditions. They also created vegetable gardens to help provide food to aid in bettering the nutrition for the community.
Jennifer Cheng, San Pedro High School, CA Ms. Cheng has collaborated with local and national non profit organizations to fund her projects, most of which led to a group of high school students to teach a community how to protect the environment. Her knowledge of science and desire to innovate has led to year long activities that were exemplary.
George Mason High School Environmental Student Group, VA These students have been involved with implementing projects over the past 2 years. Radical Radishes, controlling run-off in urban areas with Tillage Radishes. Aquaculture, were students assembled an aqua system and plan to raise tilapia to provide fresh seafood to students. Ian Leach, Eric Lowery, Matthew Zampella, Jacob Brady, Andrew Pishner, Jacob Brown, Adrian Kamel, Bikash Shah
Outstanding Green Superintendent/Principal
Erin Lenart, Lanier Middle School, VA Ms. Lenart leads a school that has many environmental science projects. They have a Solar House contest, Outdoor Living Classroom, the Recycle Rally, the Science Olympiad, the Kid Wind Contest and the Caring for Our Water Contest. The principle leads the school to participate in programs outside the classroom such as Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience Cub Run, The White House Climate Education Event, and the NSBA Innovation Challenge. Amazing work!
Dhanam Sivalingam, Tamil Nadu, India [International] Mr. Sivalingam joined with Golakal Biruthavan trust to plant one crore trees across the city to create awareness towards the protection of the environment. He created a green wave “trees are like lungs…they purify the environment”.
Jeanette Stevens, San Pedro High School, CA As a high school principal, Ms. Stevens has shown unlimited support to her students. Approving activities on and off campus, working weekdays and weekends. She supported a group of students to successfully launch a comprehensive high school sciences projects
Outstanding Green Education/Program Director
Faiza Alam, Lanier Middle School, VA Mrs. Alam as the director of activities at the Lanier Middle School, has grown the green initiatives over the past 10 years. She has had a positive impact on the community. She has created an opportunity for her students to take ownership of their environment while completing over 1000 hours of meaningful community service.
Lara Lepionka, Backyard Growers, Gloucester, MA The Backyard Growers! A grass roots organization aimed at reshaping Gloucester’s relationship with food. Started in 2010, with a small group of members helping others grow gardens. It has expanded to to inspire vegetable gardens at homes, housing communities, organizations, and schools. The power of growing one’s own food!
Virendra Rawat, B-Kanae School, Green Schools India, India [International] Beginning in 2010 launched a Green School initiative. This model has now been implemented in 100 schools including Government schools in India.
Outstanding Green Community Hero
Joseph McDonough, Wellesley, MA Working at Wellesley’s Facilities Maintenance, he has made many changes to the schools sustainable future. Working with Allen Hebert, and Michael Santangelo, he has reduced energy consumption, used cleaning green products, making Wellesley’s schools healthier for their staff and students. Thank you Joseph.
Denise Baer and Joanne Heller, Westport, Conn Developed and implemented a project that made the Westport 8 schools to become “paperless”! This project created new technology that not only involved reducing paper consumption, and changed the way the school communicated with students, parents, and teachers. They stopped the production of a printed school directory, created a mobile app that not only saved paper it created an easier way for parents to make and track on line payments. Since 2013 these women have saved thousands of trees!
Outstanding Green Student [Elementary/Middle/High]
Nathan Daigle, Academy for Science and Design, Nashua, NH Nathan conducted a research project on indoor air quality and wrote a review on his findings. “hacking a plant’s root system to clean the air”, studied how volatile organic compounds are a serious pollutant in a majority of U.S. homes. While researching he discovered a potential indoor air quality remediation system, “Phytoremediation”,mit relies on bacteria found in the roots of certain plants which can consume pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene. Amazing!
Luke Hylton, Lanier Middle School, Fairfax, VA Luke has been instrumental in maintaining and expanding the school courtyard into an outdoor living classroom. He established and maintained various ecosystems, such as a vernal pool, vegetable garden, pollination garden, and rain garden. He has been a leader for the Eco club that oversees the area.
Brooke Leifer, Qualters Middle School, Mansfield, MA Brooke is a singer who promotes environmental awareness. She composed “One Earth”. She performed and spoke at surrounding schools and conferences around New England. She sends a positive message to children and adults through her songs lyrics about pollinators and conserving water.
Ryan Phillips, Mariam Shafik & Keivon Chamanara, Lanier Middle School, VA Environmental stewards, worked on school wide environmental initiatives such as garden maintenance, collaborated with teachers and peers on projects that helped the community such as reducing plastic bottles on campus and having 6 bottle filling stations installed. Great Job!
Nicolas Rojas, San Pedro High School, San Pedro ,CA President of the Student Environmental Action League, he headed the Coposting Initiative. The project hundreds. He worked more that 100 hours volunteering for clean ups in and around the San Pedro area
Destiny Baldovines, Andres Romo, & Hannae Seller, San Pedro High School, San Pedro, CA This group devoted their personal time to start and maintain a Pollinator Garden. This project is to cultivate and fertilize the clayish soil that has been left to the elements. The future looks brighter because of these students
Christopher Ficuracion and Genavieve Mather, San Pedro High School, San Pedro, CA Their project “Multimedia as a Tool in Environmental Education”, is a compilation of information that the school that used for environmental awareness on and off campus. They created interviews, video clips and research that used the technology of mass media and created a documentary that brought attention to environmental issues of the area.
Roshini Shafikhan, PSGR Krishnammal Nursery and Primary School, Tamil Nadu, India [International] As Secretary of the Eco Club’s 92 members, and two teachers, he oversees the clubs daily activites such as food and paper waste, and recycling process. The club cares for 70 species of medicinal plants and trees that are used to cure infections and desease. The clubs pledge is to “save mother earth”.
