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The winners of the eighth annual Igniting Creative Energy Challenge showed that a young generation is ready to fight to save our natural resources. The winners — three students and a teacher — will travel to Washington, D.C. in June, where they will share their ICE entries and ideas with government and energy leaders at the Energy Efficiency Forum. The Challenge is an educational competition that motivates students to learn more about energy and the environment.
Students in grades K-12 throughout the U.S. and Canada are asked to submit entries that demonstrate an understanding of what an individual, family or group can do in their home, school or community to conserve energy and help the environment. They are encouraged to express their ideas in any creative form such as science projects, essays, stories, artwork, photographs, music, videos, web site projects, and more. The judging staff consists of professionals nationwide with backgrounds in science, math, music, art and gifted and talented education, as well as environmental industry experts.
Our eighth annual Igniting Creative Energy Challenge winners are:
Elementary Division —Olivia Horne, a fourth-grader from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Olivia's winning project is a video titled Extreme Lunch Makeover highlighting how to create an eco-friendly lunch. She began her project by looking at her own lunch and making eco-friendly choices. She then looked at other students' and family members' lunches and was amazed at all the plastic bags and bottles that were being used and discarded. She then decided to create a video that features her own eco-friendly lunch bag (called E.L.S.E. Bags: Eco-Friendly Lunches Save Energy for our Environment), and instructs others on how to make over their lunch by making smart food choices and shopping wisely.
Middle School Division —Maddie Reichman, a sixth-grader from Salt Lake City, Utah. Maddie has always tried to do her part for the environment and has worked extensively with her classmates to reach out to the community to help educate and create awareness. She presented at community councils, passed out anti-idling air fresheners, and filmed a movie for other schools to use when hosting anti-idling campaigns. However, she wanted to do more. So she worked with her classmates to form the P.E.A.C.E. team, which stands for Protecting Everyone and our Cool Earth. Together, they created P.E.A.C.E. anti-idling lap blankets and a campaign to remind drivers not to idle unnecessarily. Rather than running their car heaters, the community was encouraged to keep warm by using the P.E.A.C.E. anti-idling lap blanket. Through this project, Maddie learned how to calculate pollution produced by vehicles and how to reach out to the community and make a difference.
High School Division —Suzanne Warren, a senior from Parker, Colorado. Suzanne is a dedicated advocate for saving the environment and worked hard to create a meaningful entry that utilized her creative energy. She developed a board game called 'Eco Quest' with multiple choice questions relating to environmental facts. Through this fun, yet informative board game, her goal was to make a lasting impact on children, thereby igniting their creative energy to make a difference in the world. The goal of the game is for players to compare what they think they know about the environment with actual facts. She feels that the impact of Eco Quest will ideally create a more educated generation that will be inspired to make a change in the lives of others.
Teacher Division — Marilyn Hamot Ryan, a gifted and talented teacher in Saddle Brook School District in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. As the teacher with the highest average score of qualifying student entries, Marilyn was named the national winner. She worked with talented and gifted students throughout the elementary school on a district-wide Go Green initiative, including lessons on non-renewable resources, to embrace the environment and energy solutions.
The Igniting Creative Energy Challenge is sponsored by:
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