Eco-Footprint Challenge a success!

6 schools created ways to protect Earth

June 25, 2013 – What do you get when you challenge young learners and their teachers to protect the environment?
In the Catawba River District, our first annual Eco-Footprint Challenge drew fascinating solutions involving worms, fermented food and even basketball hoops over recycling bins.
Our winning school teams earned trophies and plaques for their hard work.
More important, the Eco-Footprint Challenge has helped hundreds of our elementary and middle-school students discover the fun and value of applying of science, technology, engineering and math to real-life challenges.

The challenge: reduce your school's environmental impact

The challenge began early this year when we and our corporate partner, Piedmont Natural Gas, invited public schools serving the River District in Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties to devise ways to reduce their school’s impact on the environment. To spice up the challenge, we added the incentive of friendly competition and prizes for the best elementary and middle-school projects.

Rankin Elementary video introduces "Bokashi!"

Hundreds of students and scores of teachers and volunteers designed projects, created videos of what they hoped to accomplish, and then worked for six weeks in April and May to save energy, recycle lunchroom plastic, and turn lunchtime food waste into compost for school vegetable gardens. One school raised worms to help their compost. Another tried bokashi fermentation!
So much work! So much enthusiasm! So much learning through hands-on activities that builds science, technology, engineering and math skills.
Our team of judges included experts in science, recycling, water quality and gardening. One judge visited each school to see the project first-hand. We videotaped those presentations for all of the judges to see as well. Now the judges have spoken.

We have our winners!

First Place:

• Earning first place among elementary schools is River Oaks Academy for its “Great Shutdown of 2013!” (CLICK to see team data, photos and video)
• A team of sixth graders at Whitewater Middle School took first place among older students for their project on “Ozone-Plant Alerts.” (CLICK to see team data, photos and video)

Second Place: 

• Our second-place winners include Second graders at Catawba Heights Elementary School for their project, “The Composters!” (CLICK to see team data, photos and video)
• And middle-school students at Mountain Island Charter School for their schoolwide recycling campaign to “Cut the Plastic Trash.” (CLICK to see team data, photos and video)

Receiving Honorable Mentions are:

• Rankin Elementary School third-graders for “Composting with Bokashi!” (CLICK to see team data, photos and video)
• NS Whitewater Academy students for “Composting with Vermiculture.” (CLICK to see team data, photos and video)

Thanks to our partners

We thank all the students, staff and volunteers at these schools for their hard work and creativity.

We also acknowledge the financial and volunteer support this project received from Piedmont Natural Gas and two other River District corporate sponsors, Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center and Huber Technology.

You can learn much more about our Eco-Footprint Challenge at its website, schoolecochallenge.org. Along with general information about the overall challenge, you will find pages devoted to each school’s project including a brief description, weekly data reports, videos, photo albums and blogs.

If you don’t think kids enjoy STEM learning, just check out all of the smiling faces!