Oyster Cages for the Crossroads School

2024, Baltimore, MD, USA

Middle School students at Crossroads school had a goal to restore the oyster populations in the Inner Harbour of Baltimore and around the Crossroads School. With the help of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a group of ten students built 10 oyster cages to implement into the canal next to their campus. In September of 2024 they will receive their spat on shell, and they will be able to fully implement their project. By May they will have grown into adulthood and transplanted to a nearby oyster reef! The project will continue to be used each year, leaving a legacy of taking an active role in the protection of life in the water.

SDG: 13: Climate Action, 14: Life Below Water

Targets: 13.1, 14.1

Raising Awareness Buddy Campaign

2024, Arlington, VA, USA

Students in a fifth-grade class at Jamestown Elementary learned from a Master Naturalist and parent volunteer about the issues facing the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. They realized how much they had not known previously and were inspired to create a buddy system in which students in their grade could teach younger students about the issues facing their watershed.

Fifth grade students went in prepared and had various games and resources to teach their third-grade buddies about the watershed. A week later they had the third-grade students create posters based on what they had learned. Creative awards were given, and the posters remained on the school walls for the course of the school year.

This unique project increased awareness and communicated to all how they can protect the environment in small and simple ways.

SDG: 13: Climate Action 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Targets: 13.3, 6.3, 6.6

Active and Sustainable Transportation – Carson Middle School

2024, Fairfax, VA, USA

Middle Schoolers launched a campaign to raise awareness of the negative impacts of greenhouse gasses and encourage their peers to use public transit rather than cars for the commute to school. They collected data on how many students were on the buses the week before their campaign to raise awareness, and the week after. They found that the use of the morning school bus had increased, and they rewarded students and drivers for their efforts.

Next year, students plan on running the campaign earlier and longer to encourage a long-term change of habit that will create a ripple effect throughout the community.

SDG’s: 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, 15: Life on Land, 13: Climate Action

Targets: 11.4, 15.5, 13.3

Bluebird Trail

2024, Ashburn, VA, USA

Farmwell 7^th graders aimed to protect wildlife by creating a “bluebird trail”. The school had 4 bluebird houses and needed one more for it to officially be a trail. The 7^th graders earned the grants for the 5^th bluebird house and predator guards/raccoon baffles for all five bluebird houses. As anticipated, all bird houses were occupied by three different bird species – tree swallows, chickadees, and eastern bluebirds – all of them native to Virginia. Students have learned the skills required to create a welcomed change in the community and are excited to have made a home for birds in the years to come.

SDGs: 13: Climate Action, 14: Life on Land, 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Targets: 6.4, 15.3, 13.1

Blair Learning Garden, Native Plant Raised Garden

2024, Norfolk, VA, USA

Blair Middle Schoolers in Norfolk, Virginia noticed that habitat loss in their community due to major flooding issues. The students partnered with Master Gardeners, Elizabeth River Project and more to create a raised garden bed in front of the school to combat these problems.

The students faced challenges along the way but are pleased with the outcome. They all got a taste of the satisfaction that comes from doing something beneficial for the community and will continue to seek opportunities to do more.

SDG’s: 13: Climate action, 14: Life Below Water, 15: Life on Land

Targets: 14.1

Brilliant Bats

2022, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
bat house outside
Did you know that one little brown bat can eat 1000 insects a night? To reduce the number of pesticides used in Saskatoon, Evan from Montgomery School decided to build houses for bats. He has installed ten bat houses across the city and countryside. Evan also partnered with Meewasin Valley Authority and added QR Codes on signs to help educate the public about bats and other flora and fauna in Meewasin Valley. They also had a public bat installation event at a local park. Thanks to Evan, 300 bats have brand new homes in the City of Saskatoon.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Goal 15- Life on Land
Goal 13- Climate Action

Students putting bat house together outside Student and man using table saw for bat house

outdoor signage for bat house

Vapes of Wrath

2023, Ohio, USA
Vape and E-Cigarette disposal bin
Vapes of Wrath was a project done by Cullen and Ethan that was focused on fixing the problems that vaping creates for health and the environment.

As high school students, they found evidence of vaping as an issue from firsthand experience. Many of their classmates were engaging in the behavior and it was an obvious issue. After doing research, they too realized that vaping was an environmental concern,
considering discarded e-cigarettes are hazardous waste and can contaminate local watersheds and ecosystems. E-cigarettes contain toxic chemicals and lithium batteries which are considered toxic and hazardous waste and pollute water systems and soil. They wanted to address this issue first on a local level, in their communities. They implemented a two-fold program, including an educational and collection component. First, they educated people about the health issues and lesser-known environmental issues associated with vaping. They accomplished this through posters and through their website and referred to the FDA, NIH, and Truth Initiative.
Then they established several vape collection containers, locking sharp containers, and placed them in strategic and popular places in their community. This was a cost effective method that could be easily replicated throughout the state and nation. There are no public vaping disposal services available, so they were filling a complete void. Their project addressed several sustainable development goals as set forth by the United Nations: Good Health and Well-Being, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Climate Action.

This project was interesting for them because it was an opportunity to tackle something that is not often talked about. Because of the stigma that surrounds vaping, it is a topic that is often ignored. But Cullen and Ethan believe that ignoring a problem will only make it worse and that something needs to be done to solve the impacts of vaping.

Students standing beside disposal bins

Students standing beside disposal bins and signs

Fast Fashion

2023, Ohio, USA
Clothes drive sign

Margot, Callie, and Hollis focused on the negative impacts that are caused by fast fashion. The problem was identified in their watershed, with the vast environmental impact that fast fashion poses. Fast fashion produces extensive air and water pollution, with extremely negative environmental impacts. Margot, Callie, and Hollis knew this was something that needed to be fixed, and fast.

The group narrowed their focus by reviewing the UN’s Sustainable development goals. Goal 11, to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, with a focus on waste management and implementation. Goal 12, to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns with a focus on reducing waste generation, procurement, and information. Their final goal was Goal 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts specifically to improve education and awareness.
Donate here sign with bags of clothes in front of it bag in box
In order to combat this problem they decided to organize a clothing drive through their school. Their two-day event consisted of a donation day on Saturday and a thrift event hosted on Sunday. Over 1,050 items of clothing were donated on Saturday and for every item donated participants received 1 credit to shop with the next day. In order to increase turnout, they allowed community members to donate canned goods and toiletries as another opportunity to receive credits.

There was great turnout on Sunday with people coming from all over Wyoming and surrounding communities. The bathrooms were open, so that way everyone had the option to try on each item before purchasing. This lowered the chance that items would immediately be taken to places like goodwill following the drive. Majority of the donations received were taken, but they then took the few remaining items, as well as the donated canned goods and toiletries to Matthew 25 Ministries. This made the impact of their drive global, with Matthew 25 shipping the donations to countries in need.

With such a successful drive, the group received countless compliments from community members. Several were shocked and impressed that they collected so many donation items in only one day. Others requested that the project continues down the line. With all of the positive feedback, Margot, Callie and Hollis decided to implement the project as a yearly tradition. They took it up with Project Lead, a volunteer group at their school. Project lead agreed to host the drive every year, meaning that the impact of the drive can continue for years to come.
Students sorting clothes into categories on tables
With fast fashion being such a prevalent issue resulting from the rise of social media, the trend of fast fashion is not projected to slow down any time soon. The group hung up posters at the drive with several links of sustainable online businesses to shop at, as well as nearby environmentally friendly thrift stores. The ability of this drive to start a cycle of clean shopping will be increasingly beneficial for the community of Wyoming, Ohio as well as surrounding communities. A major takeaway from the experience that Margot, Callie, and Hollis got was how such a small project can end up making such a big impact. Wyoming is a very small community, but they were able to make a global impact that will continue to serve as a way to help the environment for as long as the drive continues. It makes them wonder, if such a tight knit small community can make such a drastic impact, what even bigger impact can the surrounding big communities do?

On one of the final days in class before summer break, the students gave a presentation to their class using the same slideshow used to present at the Ohio Caring for Our Watersheds competition where they placed 3rd in the state.

Trees & Beads

2023, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Two students standing by project on table
Taylor and Kyptin raised money for tree planting by selling jewelry. They wanted to give people an opportunity to participate in something beneficial for the environment. Their goal was to expand awareness by encouraging others to share their platform. With each purchase made they would donate to a local tree planting group. They advertised their product on a variety of social media channels, on a local radio station, and with schools.

The Sustainable Development Goals they focused on were #6 Clean Water and Sanitation, #13 Climate Action, #15 Life on Land, and #17 Partnerships for the Goal.

They partnered with Trees Canada and were able to get 125 trees planted by May 2023. Some future partnerships they want to make were with AWES, 2 Billion Trees program, and Trees for Life. All profits that are made will go towards the donation. They have been able to start a sustainable business that helps the community and environment.

wrists with bracelets on them

Willow Staking

2023, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
group of students by river
Jade’s project was on reducing erosion of riverbanks after seeing the consequences of flooding in the Bow River. They decided on willow staking along banks that have little to no vegetation. Willows can survive in wet environments and their root system can prevent erosion while filtering pollutants. Some of the other benefits to their project is improving biodiversity and providing habitat and food for wildlife.

The Sustainable Development Goals Jade focused on were #6 Clean Water and Sanitation, #13 Climate Action, #14 Life Below Water, and #15 Life on Land.

They partnered with Friends of Fish Creek to learn how to properly willow stake. There was a call for volunteers and funding from the community to be able to complete this project. Jade chose a location with little vegetation and where other projects had already been implemented to ensure better results. Her target was to plant 100 stakes along 50m of stream bank. With the help of the volunteers, she was able to complete their first planting.

riverbank