TORRANCE, Calif., April 7, 2011 – Educating the community about the contamination of lobsters in local and global waters and raising money to purchase solar panels for their school and encouraging others to look into renewable energy were the two top winning projects in the fourth annual Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational program and contest that inspires and empowers middle and high school students to learn about the environment and take action to improve it. 

Student teams from Clark Magnet High School in La Crescenta, Calif., and St. James School in Madison, Wis., each earned a grand prize of $30,000 in grants and scholarships. Eight first-place teams also won $15,000 each. In all, $500,000 in grants and scholarships have been awarded throughout the seven-month-long environmental education program and contest.
 

“With the terrific entries we saw from these students, it’s very clear that the Lexus Eco Challenge was more than just a science project for them…they were fueled by passion,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “Not only have they improved the environment, they’ve demonstrated that they can change the world. We couldn’t be more proud of all the winning participants.”  
 

The two grand prize winning teams have demonstrated how great ideas can inspire an entire community and improve the environment globally. The “Eco Savers” team made of five students from Clark Magnet High school in La Crescenta, Calif., wanted to address the organic and inorganic threat to waterways and oceans and its effects on the lobster population around the world. They learned the lobsters, and potentially other marine life species, have traces of contamination that are harmful if consumed by humans. The team tackled the task by getting a local seafood company to donate lobster samples from around the world, formed a partnership with a testing facility, created maps in ArcGIS and created awareness through presentations to the community and schools.

 

The “Ladies of the Light,” made up of eight students from St. James School in Madison, Wis., focused their efforts on renewable energy. They found that 93% of energy in the U.S. comes from non-renewable resources. The team thought since schools use a lot of energy, they would raise funds to purchase solar panels for their school. Their efforts included a proposal to the Madison Gas & Electric Foundation to offer scholarships to other schools to purchase solar panels and to inspire the next class of students to continue the fundraising efforts. In addition, the team created awareness through local media and a documentary video. The result was raising enough money to purchase their first solar panel for the school. 
 

For their efforts, each grand prize winning school will receive a grant for $7,000, the teacher advisor will get a $3,000 grant, and the students will share $20,000 in scholarships.
 

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