The contest is sponsored and funded through a grant by Johnson Controls, Inc., with additional support from Philips and the United States Energy Association, and is administered by the National Energy Foundation.

The Challenge asked students to submit projects that demonstrated ways of practicing sustainability at home, at school, or in the community. More about the winning entries follows.

Elementary School Winner -- Tessa Hartley of Missouri
Tessa Hartley is a kindergartener in the St. James R-1 School District. Her winning project is a book she wrote and illustrated titled ABC's in My Trash. The book identifies how she saved a piece of trash for every letter of the alphabet and found a way to reuse the item instead of throwing it away. Tessa's project demonstrates that using creativity -- with recycling and in life -- can go a long way.

Middle School Winner -- Matthew Belz of Ohio
Matthew Belz is a sixth-grader in the Upper Arlington (Ohio) City School District. His winning project is a documentary highlighting his journey to find an environmentally-friendly alternative to the polystyrene trays used in his school's cafeteria.

His extensive research led him to discover that trays made of sugar cane fiber are similar in cost and more environmentally conscious than polystyrene trays. School district officials, including the Director of Finance and Food Service Director, are reviewing Matthew's findings to explore the possibility of changing the trays in the school's cafeteria.

High School Winner -- Wesley Fulkerson of California
Wesley Fulkerson is a junior in the Grossmont Union High School District. His winning project is a song he wrote and recorded called Its a Beautiful World. The song encourages others to make simple changes in their lives to conserve energy. It drives home the idea that if we all do little things we can collectively make a big difference.

All three students were announced as the national winners during surprise announcements in their respective classrooms, March 13 and 14, 2008. Representatives from Johnson Controls, local dignitaries, school officials and the student's parents were on hand to congratulate each on his/her accomplishment.

The winners will receive a hosted trip to Hawaii, March 26 - 30, 2008 as well as the opportunity to participate in the Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington, D.C., June 10 - 11, 2008, where they will share their Challenge entries and ideas with government and energy leaders

The Igniting Creative Energy Challenge is open to all students in grades K-12 in the United States and Canada. Students are asked to submit entries that reflect the competition theme, Igniting Creative Energy, and demonstrate an understanding of what an individual, family, or group can do to make a difference in the places they live or travel. In addition to the three student winners, there is also one teacher winner.

Jean Kegerreis, a chemistry and zoology teacher in West Ottawa Public Schools in Michigan, was the teacher with the highest average score of student work from 15 or more qualifying entries is named the national winner. Ms. Kegerreis will be joining the student winners in Hawaii and Washington D.C.

The winning entries for 2008 will be posted here. There also will be links from the National Energy Foundation and Johnson Controls Web sites.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News