The
fourth and final initial round of the Lexus Environmental Challenge motivated
hundreds of middle and high school students nationwide to explore what they can
do to help address the climate crisis they hear about so often. Sixteen school
teams from eight states were recognized today for their outstanding environmental
action plans for the "Global Warming, Local Solutions" Challenge.
Each team won $3,000 in scholarships and grants and has been invited to participate
in the Final Challenge for a chance to win one of two $75,000 grand prizes. In
all, more than $1 million in scholarships and grants will be awarded. The teams'
winning Action Plans are posted on the Challenge's Web site (www.scholastic.com/Lexus)
to help inspire other young people to make a difference in their own communities.
"In all, we've received 350 entries during the Challenge, representing
a tremendous amount of positive environmental action across the country,"
said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "We think
this level of participation proves that young people are ready to make a difference,
and Lexus is pleased that this program is driving them to take action."
For each of the challenges, teams were required to define an environmental
issue that is important to them, develop an action plan to address the issue,
implement the plan, and report on the results. The Challenge #4 winners who best
addressed "Global Warming, Local Solutions" are:
High Schools
Teams:
"Water Wizards" Cate School, Carpinteria, Calif.: Raised
awareness about the need to reduce the community's carbon footprint by conducting
energy audits in their school's dorms and reporting the results at student assemblies.
Promoted the use of compact fluorescent bulbs in dorms, classrooms, and some of
the administration's offices on campus.
"RelightNY" Collegiate
School, New York, NY: Distributed nearly 15,000 compact fluorescent bulbs to low
or fixed income families, contributing to the reduction of an estimated 1.5 million
pounds of carbon emissions.
"Greenery" Herricks High School, New
Hyde Park, NY: Raised interest in the reduction of carbon emissions by communicating
the cause via fliers, a public library exhibit, and a feature in the school newspaper.
"Reducing
4 More!" Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, NY: Educated students and community
members about reducing the use of plastic bags, plastic bottles, paper, and paper
bags with extensive flier, e-mail, and Web-based campaigns.
"Vampire
Exterminators" Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, NY: Raised awareness
about "vampire electronics," the devices powered by plugs that continue
to siphon energy from the electrical socket, even when they are not in use. The
message reached 17 fourth and fifth grade classes as well as approximately 700
additional members of the community.
"Team Earth" Lyceum Academy
of NHHS, Wilmington, N.C.: Informed the community about the global, environmental
benefits of reforestation via educational pamphlets, a bake sale, and a raffle,
which raised more than $300 for Nicaragua's reforestation project.
"Manalapan
High School Environmental Club (S.A.V.E.)" Manalapan High School, Englishtown,
N.J.: Focused on fighting deforestation and boosting recycling. The team launched
a cell phone and ink cartridge recycling drive, organized an assembly, planted
25 baby pine trees, placed eight recycling bins at school, sold 43 T-shirts to
students and families, and saved 4.3 acres in the Osa Peninsula Rainforest.
"The
Green Gators" The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, Pa.: Increased awareness about
the importance of driving with properly inflated tires. Fliers, an in-school assembly,
and a popular Facebook group helped educate the community about a simple tactic
to help reduce carbon emissions!
"The Ones Who Care" Sierra Vista
High School, Baldwin Park, Calif.: Researched the greenhouse effect and global
warming then conducted an after-school program for their school's sixth grade.
Program included a slide show, discussion and a drawing contest to gauge what
the audience had learned.
"Westminster CCC4" The Westminster Schools,
Atlanta, Ga.: Pursued efforts to help the campus become more energy efficient
as well as establishing a bus system for school commuters. Promoted participation
in the Atlanta Green Cup Challenge, an event organized to help reduce energy bills
at two competing schools.
Middle Schools Teams:
"The Climate
Academy" - Academy I, Jersey City, NJ: Encouraged others to help reduce carbon
dioxide emissions in their daily lives by creating an informational PSA that reached
an audience of more than 70,000 people.
"The Waterboys" Bogle
Junior High School, Chandler, Ariz.: Raised awareness via fliers about the efficiency
of using compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) instead of incandescent alternatives.
"Don't Dis Methane" The Mott Hall School, New York, NY: Researched
methane's contributions to global warming and then presented a lesson to its school's
fifth graders. Pre- and post surveys showed students' knowledge about the impact
greenhouse gases increased by 100 percent.
"R.O.S.E." Rugby Middle
School, Hendersonville, N.C.: Addressed the spread of the Oriental Bittersweets,
an aggressive vine threatening the health of trees and other vegetation in their
nearby park. Collected 200 strands of the vine, 200 of its berries, picked up
along the way, and started an environmental action club on campus.
"The
Skomajomas" SCAPA Bluegrass, Lexington, Ky.: Educated the school and community
about how inflating tires properly leads to less energy consumption and carbon
emissions. Circulated fliers and e-mail messages, as well as placed print and
online ads in their community newspaper.
"Enviro-mentals" West
Branch Area School District – Morrisdale, Pa.: Addressed climate change and
carbon dioxide emissions by organizing an educational assembly for their peers,
recycling 102 pounds of newspaper and magazines, and obtaining two composting
bins for the school.
The Lexus Environmental Challenge launched on Sept.
10, 2007, and concludes with the announcement of the first-place and grand-prize-winning
teams in April in conjunction with Earth Day. All 55 winning teams are hard at
work on the Final Challenge, with entries due on March 24.
In addition
to the ongoing contest, the Lexus Environmental Challenge also includes educational
materials designed by Scholastic to encourage teachers to integrate creative lesson
plans into their classrooms to help teach students about the environment. For
each challenge, the Web site (www.scholastic.com/lexus) has lesson plans and teacher
instructions including questions to help guide a discussion about the current
challenge topic, facts about the topic, and guidelines for a specific classroom
project.
The Lexus Environmental Challenge was created by Lexus and Scholastic
to educate and empower students to take action to improve the environment It is
part of The Lexus Pursuit of Potential, a philanthropic initiative that generates
$3 million in donations each year for organizations that help build, shape and
improve children's lives.
Lexus Club United Kingdom
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