Contests, Challenges & Awards
LINKS TO CONTESTS, CHALLENGES & AWARDS
YOUR SCHOOL, CLUB OR STUDENTS MAY BE INTERESTED IN:
The Great American Can Roundup Registration
for the 2014-2015 School Recycling Challenge! The Great American Can Roundup (GACR) is an easy and fun way to raise money and help the environment. Your group can earn money by turning aluminum beverage cans into cash. With the recycling proceeds you can purchase much needed supplies for your school or community group or donate the funds to charities. Additionally, by recycling beverage cans you reduce litter and solid waste in your community, save energy and conserve natural resources. Furthermore, by registering for the GACR, your group will be eligible to win cash prizes in either the GACR Schools Recycling Challenge or Scout Council Challenge. Contact The CLUB to borrow one of our Can Cages to collect your cans! Click here for more information.
The Plastic Bag Challenge
Trex sponsors the Plastic Film Recycling Challenge each year in schools and communities all across the United States. The challenge brings to life for children the importance of recycling and keeping plastic film out of our nation’s landfills. Schools compete against each other to collect the most plastic film, such as grocery bags and case over wrap, which will eventually be recycled and made into beautiful Trex wood-composite decking and railing products. Youth get excited and interested in recycling early and Trex is happy to make possible a program that encourages recycling and community involvement. Click the link below for more information.
http://www.trex.com/recycling/recycling-programs/
Recycle-Bowl
Recycling is the easiest and most effective thing that ANYONE can do to protect natural resources, conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions. Recycling also creates jobs and stimulates our economy. And, friendly competition is a proven way to motivate young people toward adopting sustainable behaviors. Many schools have been slow to embrace recycling. Through Recycle-Bowl, we hope to galvanize recycling in elementary, middle and high schools across America.
Objectives:
- Establish new recycling programs within schools
- Increase recycling rates in schools that currently recycle
- Provide teacher/student educational opportunities about recycling and waste reduction
Keep Your Eyes on the Prizes! Sure, bragging rights are important. But, schools also have an opportunity to take home serious awards in the Recycle-Bowl Competition Division.
- State Champions: A winner from each U.S. state and the District of Columbia will receive $1,000 based on the most recycled material per person per school.
- The National Title: America’s Top Recycling School! A national champion will be chosen from the top state winners to receive an additional prize.
- Involve your community. To keep things fair, if your school collects recyclable material from around the community or from parents homes, this will be treated as a separate competition category. The Community Recycling Category offers a $1,000 first prize, a $750 second prize and a $500 third prize. Schools will track the amount of material recovered per person and will compete with other schools on a national level.
Keep America Beautiful Grants
Keep America Beautiful partners with many businesses throughout the year. Check the link above for current grant opportunities.
PepsiCo Recycle Rally
Get ready to rally! Recycle Rally is a free nationwide program that directly benefits K-12 schools and students by providing valuable incentives and resources to help make recycling easy, fun, and rewarding.
President’s Environmental Youth Awards
K-12, Teachers Deadline: December, 31
The PEYA program honors young people for their efforts to protect the environment. Learn what others have done and how awards are earned.
Ecybermission Grades 6-8,Grades 9-12
eCYBERMISSION is a web-based science, math and technology competition for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade teams.
Envirothon Grades 9-12 Deadline: early spring
Sponsored by Canon, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and others, the Envirothon is an annual competition held for high school students throughout North America. Designed as a way to teach kids about environmental education, the best teams from over 47 states and provinces come together during the summer to compete.
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes Ages 8 to 18 Deadline: April 30
This award recognizes young people who have shown extraordinary leadership in making our world better in a number of diverse ways including protecting the environment.
Sieman’s We Can Change the World Challenge Deadline: Mid March
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge encourages students, working with a teacher/mentor, to identify environmental issues of concern and create sustainable, reproducible improvements in their local communities.
SunWise with SHADE Poster Contest Grades K-8 Deadline: April
Students in K to 8th grade can make and enter original, creative posters about sun safety awareness.
National Environmental Education Foundation
In addition to core programs—Classroom Earth, National Public Lands Day, National Environmental Education Week, Business and Environment, Earth Gauge and Health and Environment—NEEF provides grants and awards to leverage the reach of our programs, implement our program goals, support the efforts of other organizations and strengthen the environmental education (EE) field as a whole.
U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize Grades 9-12 Deadline: April
This site is an awards program for water projects for high school students. One winner for each state is selected to go to a national competition.
William T. Hornaday Award Grades 6-12 (Boy Scout) Deadline: year round
Conservation and the Boy Scouts of America have been partners for a long time. This awards program was created to recognize those that have made significant contributions to conservation. It was begun in 1914 by Dr. William T. Hornaday, director of the New York Zoological Park and founder of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Young Eco-Hero Awards Ages 8 to 16 Deadline: Jan 31
Sponsored by Action for Nature (AFN), the Young Eco-Hero Awards recognizes successful personal action projects of young people aged 8-16 from all over the world. Action for Nature’s mission is to foster respect and affection for nature through personal action.