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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

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BEE THE CHANGE

2023, LOVELAND, OHIO, USA
Beeswax wrapping on food
The Bee The Change project was run by four 9th grade students from Loveland High School, Erin, Ian, Keira, and Melia. Their idea was to give out beeswax wraps to people in their community, so that they could be used in lunches and homes instead of plastic lunch bags or cling wrap. They chose beeswax wraps because, unlike plastic, they are made of natural materials and can be used for up to a year before quickly, and completely, biodegrading.

With their budget they bought packs of beeswax wraps, paper bags, bee keychains, and printed pamphlets that they designed and instructional sheets. Then, they put together 250 kits, which were a paper bag, each containing a small beeswax wrap, a medium or large wrap, a pamphlet, and an instruction sheet.

One weekend, Ian and Melia went to downtown Loveland with a sign to hand out kits. They used bee keychains to excite younger kids and gave out almost 100 kits in total. Then their teacher sent an email to all the staff at their school. They got almost 50 requests for their kits. The next week, in their school, it was environmental week, so on “bee day” they went around the lunchroom and gave out kits. They also gave the remaining bee keychains to students wearing black and yellow. Finally, they gave out their remaining 30 or so kits after their presentation at the zoo.
Students package beeswax wrappers
The group planned to affect Sustainable development goals 3 and 6. Goal 3 intended to help clean water and sanitation, while 6 promotes human health and wellbeing, both of which their project will impact because it reduces the amount of microplastics in the watershed. More specifically, they wanted to aim for sub-goal 14.1, which will prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds by 2025.

On their pamphlets was a QR Code to an optional survey. From the survey the students were able to see that 85% of people had never used beeswax wraps, but 78% planned to use them in the future.

Their project is meant to help others be more sustainable in their daily lives. They hope that the recipients of the wraps will continue to give other sustainable products a chance, as well as share new products with others around them. They also hope their project will inspire other people to do similar projects promoting sustainability in new and different ways. Overall, their goal is to be(e) the change and help others be the change in sustainability.

Student receiving bees wax wrap

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Promoting Eco-friendly Art

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Screenshot from website

Arana, Bella, Jaiden, Bernie, student from George Washington Carver High School, are creative students with a unique project. This team addressed an issue that has never seen before in the Caring for Our Watersheds-California contest, but was very relevant to them as Resin artists. Their project aimed to promote the use of an eco-friendly art material, Ecopoxy, as an alternative to synthetic resins currently used by many artists. Some synthetic resin products can be harmful to the environment and have adverse effects on human/ animal health. The team created a website and blog and hosted a booth at the Sacramento Earth Day Festival to display their art made of Ecopoxy and educate the public.

Students sitting behind promotion table for eco-friendly art Students measuring our substances for eco-friendly materials

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Garden Education for 5th graders

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Boys learning how to plant seeds

Jessica Espejo Arellano, Kathy Nguyen, Abigail Murillo Maldonado, and Cher´Nae Perry, students from Grant High School’s GEO Academy, invited 5th and 6th graders from Hagginwood Elementary to the Grant garden to learn about seeds, vegetable and pollinator plants, as well as the benefits of composting. The elementary students planted seeds, learned plant anatomy by cooking “5 plant part chow mein”, investigated critters in the compost and soil, and made plant ID bookmarks. The GEO student leaders planned and led the hands-on activities with the rotating groups. Additional students from GEO, Ghulam Murtaza Niazi, Rodrigo Gatto, Alejandro Gil-Reyes, Milton Molina helped make this day a fun, educational and successful event for all.


Students outside working on a picnic table with soil Two girls kneeling by garden doing a project Classroom full of students

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Addressing Food Insecurity

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

Sabrina Lee, MaiChong Lee, and Faye Lee, students at Grant High School in Sacramento, were concerned about food insecurity in their community, especially during COVID-19, quarantine, and the associated economic pressures. They wanted to help students and families start small vegetable gardens at home to help supplement and ensure access to nutritional foods. To demonstrate the process, the group planted tomatoes, zucchini, and other vegetables in their school garden, created short videos and a website to educate youth about gardening, which they shared with the 10th grade class. They also provided many of these students with seeds to start their own gardens and asked for those students to document and share about the experience.  Jesse Garcia, Marielle Magalong, and Jared Matias were among the students that received and planted seeds, thus benefitting from the food gardening education provided by their peers.

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Eco-Friendly Skin Care Products

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

Grant High School students Sabela Tekle, Ana Martinez, and Jessica Jimenez are concerned about the harmful ingredients that are added to many cosmetic and skincare products and the effect these additives could have on the environment and long- term health of consumers. They are also concerned about the plastic waste generated by the beauty product industry.

To raise awareness about these issues and provide an alternative for their peers, these students created their own natural face scrub using natural ingredients such as brown sugar for an exfoliant, and provided it in reusable/ recyclable tin jars. They used the products as giveaways in a launch/awareness event at school during which they shared information about harmful additives and plastic use in the beauty industry and alternatives. To reach those not present at school during COVID, they posted on Instagram and shared the link to a webpage that shared more info on their project and product.

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Grant High School Garden Tour

2020, Sacramento, CA, USA

Students from Grant High School’s GEO Academy organized and led educational field trips for elementary students to explore and study in the school’s garden. Activities included seed and plant anatomy and adaptations, compost and soil food web investigations, and a “Nutrition Scavenger Hunt”’ of plants and their vitamins. Students also transplanted, harvested, and tasted vegetables, while learning about food safety practices. Caring for Our Watersheds funding helped bring 100 elementary students from 2 schools to have this awesome hands-on experience.

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Unmasking the Truth

2021, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Victoria from West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, MB noticed the increased amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) waste that was popping up in her community, particularly at her school where masks had become mandatory during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Single-use plastics are used so often, but not much thought goes into what happens to that plastic once it has served its purpose.”

She noted that the City of Winnipeg had encouraged people to throw disposable masks in the garbage instead of the recycling so that they would not get caught in machinery or pose health risks to recycling employees.

“My proposal works to address this situation and offer a solution that is both sustainable and safe!”

Victoria ordered TerraCycle PPE recycling boxes to have around her school to help safely dispose of used PPE during the pandemic. Even after the pandemic, these boxes will be helpful in science labs around the school. TerraCycle also offers other recycling boxes for items such as art supplies, coffee capsules, and markers which could be utilized by the school, as well.

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Plants Improving Air Quality

2018, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In 2018, Alicia Poovong of Lester B. Pearson School in Calgary, Alberta placed sixth in the 2018 Caring for Our Watersheds contest with her project “Plants Improving Air Quality”.

Alicia is a passionate gardener and active member of her high school’s gardening club.  While working with the club, Alicia and her teacher saw an opportunity to improve the air quality of their school by placing air purifying plants throughout various classrooms and learning spaces.  By identifying concerns with high amounts of carbon emissions and urban byproducts that pollute our air and contaminate our drinking water sources, Alicia saw a strong connection between the quality of the air we breathe and the health of our Bow River Watershed.

Starting small-scale, Alicia had a positive impact on the air quality of her school by growing and distributing air filtering plants such as spider plants, ferns and ivy, to name a few, in and out of Lester B. Pearson.

Her and her teacher have also set up growing stations with UVA/UVB plant lights and solutions to local pest insects, to ensure the survival and health of these beneficial plants.  Through partnerships with her school administration, Gardening Club, the Caring for Our Watersheds program, fundraising and community donations, she hopes to keep this viable, low-cost benefit to our neighbourhoods and watershed going for future students in the years to come.

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Recycling Broken Technology of Yesterday

2018, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Reece Wilson, Miles Scharte, Fossil Ridge High SchoolCO Recycling Tech Student Action

Reece and Miles found that a common component in electronics is palladium.  It is in the screens and circuitry because of its magnetic properties. Exposure, ingestion and inhalation can cause birth defects and damage the heart, liver, lungs, spleen and kidneys. They found it was rare to hear about electronic waste recycling in Fort Collins. As a result, e-waste many people were improperly disposing of their electronics.  They decided education their community and sponsor a free collection of e-waste.  They collected 1,137 pounds of e-waste! Their collection included 14 printers, 14 computers, 12 VCRs, 19 phones, and 15 monitors.