Winners

The Two Grand Prize Winners Are…

Congratulations to Ben Dauten in the 15-19 age group for The Lifestye Project and to Margarete Walden in the 20-25 age group for The Pen Pal Project. Their prize winning entries can be accessed below from among the six other finalists.

Over the coming weeks, SCA will begin work with Ben and Margarete to help them implement their projects. Check back to find out how you can be a part of it.

A big, big Thank You to Mazda for making this contest possible.

The 8 Regional Winners

Global Warming by Pete Surace

Northeast Region, 15-19 Age Group

I believe that people are not open for hybrid and alternative fuel source cars because they are unaware of the overwhelming facts of global warming and emissions. I provide a feasible and effective way to educate the masses on this topic and with this new knowledge, drivers will make more environmentally safe choices about driving and purchasing cars. - Download PowerPoint

Food For Thought: A Hands-On School Lunch Program by Angela Mrozinski

Northeast Region, 20-25 Age Group

Allowing children to get outside and hands on during school by planting a garden to grow food for the cafeteria not only connects them with nature, it also increases their well-being. Growing food on-site is cost friendly for the school and the program will bring together the community. Growing food will bridge the gap that children today are experiencing between their lives and nature. - Download Essay

LifeStyle Project, Ben Dauten

Southeast Region, 15-19 Age Group

The Lifestyle Project is a simple three-week exercise that challenges students to reduce their impact on the environment by changing the way in which they live their daily lives. The changes are simple and very doable, but each week the project becomes increasingly more rigorous. This video documents the transformation and experience as a group of freshmen at Furman University undertook this social experiment. - View Video

Pinnacle Organization by Christina Harview

Southeast Region, 20-25 Age Group

This contest submission is a concept created to form an organization that will connect multiple age levels of youths in a common goal of conservation. The concept is a broad one for the purpose of being flexible to any conservation situation. The Pinnacle Organization will mold leaders, engage youths in various levels of government participation, science investigation, and service to their communities. - Download PowerPoint

Green Fargo-Moorhead by Mitchell Calkins

Northwest, 15-19 Age Group

Many cities are developing plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and preserve the environment. This project is such a plan for my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota and its sister city Moorhead, Minnesota. - Download PDF

The Pen Pal Project by Margarete Walden

Northwest, 20-25 Age Group

Implemented on the classroom level, American students would be paired with students from a developing country and would be responsible for lowering their carbon footprint to below per capita 1990 levels by the end of the school year. This pen pal partnership is modeled on the Kyoto Protocol so that the pairs can work together to meet their target while learning about international environmental politics. The project’s main goal would be to provide students with a practical opportunity for action on global warming in the short term that would lead to a lifestyle change of great benefit to the environment in the long term. - Download Essay

Ungarbage Crew by Joanna Hoang

Southwest, 15-19 Age Group

Create a working recycling program at each high school. The students will then mentor middle school students and so on to elementary students. - Download PowerPoint

Project Nomad by Kristen Manganini

Southwest, 20-25 Age Group

Project Nomad is designed to engage young people in a variety of conservation efforts at different sites around the country during a transcontinental road trip. The interns will get their hands dirty with backcountry work, as well as meet with leaders in park management, eco-tourism, and conservation at each site. The information gathered through interviews, observation, and experience will be entered into a totally accessible, centralized online database, which will guide America’s national park system into a cohesive and dynamic learning organization. - View Video