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NEW EGYPT: Eco Warriors receive national recognition

By David Kilby, Special Writer
   NEW EGYPT — Students at New Egypt Middle School are learning what it takes to be responsible stewards of the earth as they compete as one of 16 finalists in a national competition sponsored by Scholastic.
   The team of 10 students from NEMS is one of 16 teams from across the country to be given $10,000 in scholarships and grants by Scholastic’s Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational program and contest that inspires and empowers young people to learn about the environment and take action to improve it, reads a press release announcing the students’ achievement.
   The team, called the Eco Warriors, is now qualified to participate in the final challenge for a chance at one of two $30,000 grand prizes.
   Of the $10,000 prize money, $2,000 was given to the school to enhance eco-programs, $1,000 was given to Tara Melchior, teacher advisor for the team, to be spent on continuing eco-programs at the middle school. The remaining $7,000 was split among the 10 students on the team, $700 each, which was issued to them directly by check, Ms. Melchior said.
   The team is discussing how it would spend the $30,000 if it wins the grand prize, and would like to fund a large eco-friendly initiative for the school, she added.
   ”Additionally, we want to earmark funds to continue participating in eco challenges in the future,” Ms. Melchior said. “The student portion would be given to them, to be used to further their own personal educational journey.”
   The winning entry for the school was part of the land/water challenge. The team’s project focused on decreasing waste generated from their school cafeteria. They developed a composting program and will donate the compost to the community. The team prevented 18 pounds of compostable material from heading to the landfill, according to the press release.
   ”I am very proud of the Eco-Warriors for finding a simple, attainable solution to a problem they felt was impacting our school!” Ms. Melchior said. “They have shown amazing leadership in becoming role models for other students, and working toward becoming life-long environmental stewards.”
   For each of the challenges, teams are required to define an environmental issue that is important to them, develop an action plan to address the issue, implement the plan, and report on the results, reads the release.
   ”The Lexus Eco Challenge gives teens the opportunity to change the world, starting with their community,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “With the final challenge of this competition we want to see how they can use their skills and grand ideas to improve the environment in the world at large. We look forward to seeing what they can accomplish.”
   The Final Challenge will take place January through February with winners announced in March. For this challenge the New Egypt team is working on an Acorn Project.
   ”We are focusing on ozone depletion, and how we can impact positive change,” Ms. Melchior said in an email.
   In the Acorn Project, the team is collecting acorns, testing them, planting them, nurturing them and helping them grow into oak trees. When the trees are ready, the team will distribute them to members of the local community.
   The student members of the team are Sean Lowe, Zachary Young, Holly Wetzel, Cruz Jasso, Julianna Byrne, Samantha Weber, Jessica Shoblock, Kara Jonsson, Peyton Samuelson and Raychel Laning.
   This is the first time the school has been involved in the Lexus Eco Challenge, but it has several other green initiatives going on as well, such a student Eco-Action Club consisting of 40 students and five teachers, a recycling program, a composting program, a bird observatory initiative and the school is working to compete in several other eco-friendly competitions. The district is also involved in the NJ Sustainable Schools Initiative.
   ”The most valuable lesson I feel the students can learn from this experience is that they can have an impact on the environment,” Ms. Melchior said of the Lexus Eco Challenge. “So much damage, and repair is being done to the environment on a daily basis, but the scope seems so large that students don’t get to see their impacts, positive or negative. (The Lexus Eco Challenge) allows them to see that they are making a difference. I think the students have also begun to see that they can impact others, just by taking part themselves. They are encouraging one another, and being role models for their peers.”
   She said the students came up with the idea of the compost project because they recognized how much waste in the cafeteria was fruit that students didn’t want to eat, or leftover pieces of food that could be composted.
   ”The need for composting was driven by the idea that we could reduce the waste while making a positive impact on the environment in another way as well.”
   For more information on the Lexus Eco Challenge, visit www.scholastic.com/lexus. For more information on the New Egypt Eco Warriors, visit www.nemsacornproject.com.