We’ve Got Problems, They’ve Got Solutions: 2015 Young Reporters for the Environment Competition Winners

Did you ever wonder how your community deals with invasive species like Kudzu? How about what GMO’s really are and why they are of concern? What about how communities are dealing with Styrofoam? Did you ever wonder if your town might run out of water?

All of these environmental issues were addressed by students ages 13-21 as part of National Wildlife Federation’s Young Reporters for the Environment Program (YRE). Students that participated in the competition investigated a local environmental problem or issue, and proposed solutions. They documented their work, through writing, photography or video and reported on it to a variety of local audiences.

Submissions were awarded by a prestigious group of national and international jurists that volunteered their expertise and time to evaluate and provide comments to all entries that met the program requirements.

All 1^st place winning entries were submitted to the International YRE competition where participants competed against others from 25 different countries. This year, YRE-USA is proud to have two winners in the international competition!

The winning entries from the 2014-2015 NWF YRE-USA annual competition are:

International Winners from the United States

Writing Category (AGES 11-14)

1^st Place: “Polk County: Strangled” by Madeline McDonough – Polk County Middle School, NC

Video category (AGES 15-18)

2^nd Place: “Tap’s Where It’s At!” by Mauricio Bustamante, Meztli Cardoso, and Shantal Teran, Queens Vocational and Technical High School, Long Island City, NY

View all 2015 International YRE winners.

National Winners

MIDDLE SCHOOL (AGES 13-15)

Writing Category:

1st Prize: “Polk County: Strangled” – Madeline McDonough – Polk County Middle School, Mill Spring, NC

2nd Prize: “Montgomery County Bans Styrofoam Products” – Julia Rich, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD

3rd Prize: “Obesity in Tennessee” – Danielle Less, Donelson Christian Academy, Hermitage, TN

 

Photo Category:

1^st Prize: “Christopher Meets John” – Rachel Wolf – Duval Charter High School, Jacksonville, FL (see photo)

2^nd Prize: “Honeybees Aren’t the Only Bees We are Needing” – Kayta Willhoit, Dunsmuir High School, Dunsmuir, CA

3^rd Prize: “Be Good to the Earth” – Zoe Corbine, Northern Waters Environmental School, Hayward, WI

 

Video Category:

1^st Prize: “G-M-Oh My Goodness” – Juniper Walter-Eger and Sadie Allen, Polk County Middle School, Mill Spring, NC

2^nd Prize: “Kudzu Conquers” – Izzy Jackson and Reese Alley, Polk County Middle School, Mill Spring, NC

3^rd Prize: “Touring through the Ecosystem” – Juliana Robbins and Morgan Stott, Polk County Middle School, Mill Spring, NC

 

HIGH SCHOOL (AGES 16-18)

Writing Category:

1st Prize: “Maryland’s Two Treasures: Chickens and the Chesapeake” – Norma Panigot, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD

2nd Prize: “A Solution to Bus Pollution” – Jason Kim, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD

3rd Prize: “What the Frack?” – Chrissy Kingsley, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD

 

Photo Category:

1st Prize: “Solar Panels” – Alyssa Clark, Dunsmuir High School, Dunsmuir, CA

2nd Prize: “Vermicomposting: Worm Poop” – LeAnn Rhoades, Dunsmuir, CA

3^rd Prize: “We Turned Our Backs on Nature” – Northview High School, Covina, CA

 

Video Category:

1st Prize: “Tap’s Where It’s At!” – Mauricio Bustamante, Meztli Cardoso, and Shantal Teran, Queens Vocational and Technical High School, Long Island City, NY

2nd Prize: “Water Conservation” – Alex Moran, Northview High School, Covina, CA

3^rd Prize Tie: “The Montgomery County City Agricultural Reserve” – Alexander Tran, Nic Heemskerk, Anna Murgia, Varun Pemmaraju, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD

3^rd Prize Tie: “A Flowing Legacy: Montgomery County-Last Best Creek” – Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD

 

Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) is an international program that engages youth in environmental journalism in 25 countries. In the United States, YRE is hosted in the United States by the National Wildlife Federation and is open to students between the ages of 13 and 21; the program is coordinated by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) worldwide. For more information, please go to: www.yre-usa.org.