The picnic center at James Island County Park was jumping as students from all ove
r Charleston came together for Lowcountry Earth Force's 12th annual Youth Environmental Summit on May 20th. The day was a huge success! 250+ students from the Charleston area joined local Community Partners to celebrate the strides that were taken during the year to improve our environment. The Summit is held each year with three goals in mind; the first is to recognize all of the hard work Earth Force students put into their year long environmental service learning projects; second is to celebrate that hard work with a day of fun in the sun at our beautiful county park and the third goal is to offer a career exploration opportunity for the students by connecting them with Community Partners who have made careers out of improving the environment and our communities.
The da
y started with the students breaking into small groups and visiting Community Partner presentations. Each of our amazing Community Partners planned an exciting display or activity for the students. This year, Grice Marine Laboratory brought their always-popular touch tank. The students had an opportunity to handle native South Carolina marine life and discuss ways to protect these animals. Alcoa captivated students with demonstrations of the strides their company has taken to decrease its carbon footprint. LEEP (Lowcountry Environmental Education Programs) brought their biodiesel bus so the students could tour it and then discuss why this type of fuel is better than the fuel we normally use.
Here is a list of all of our wonderful Community Partners:
Alcoa Mt. Holly
Avian Conservation Center
Charleston Water Systems
Clemson Extension
Coastal Conservation League
Green Roof Outfitters
Grice Marine Laboratory
LEEP – Lowcountry Environmental Education Programs
Magnolia Plantation
Michaux Conservancy
MOCYF – Mayor’s Office for Children
Nature in Motion
SC Aquarium
SC DNR
SCANA
Spirit of SC
After the community partner presentations, the students sat down to a delicious lunch, graciously provided by Piggly Wiggly. Mayor Joe Riley kicked off the Summit Ceremony by congratulating the students on their hard work and encouraging them to continue to make their voices heard. He explained the importance of getting youth involved in our community and environment so that future generations have an environment to protect.
Staples District Manager John Hill continued the Summit Ceremony by presenting Charleston Day School (CDS) with the Staples Earth Force Award. Charleston Day School students in Ms. Jocelyn Hurley’s class won the Staples Earth Force Award for their work on the national project, "Youth Charter of Responsibilities: Let's Take Care of the United States,” The award, which is made possible through Earth Force’s partnership with Staples Foundation for Learning, recognizes youth working to make a difference in their community by serving as active environmental citizens. The charters developed by CDS students were a list of responsibilities the students pledged to take on to improve the environment. The charter includes a list of initiatives, including reducing waste by recycling, conserving energy and educating their peers and others in the community.
Next students from each Earth Force project completed this year had an opportunity to present their project to the rest of the attendees. The projects this year were really awesome! We had everything from recycling projects, to Oyster Restoration, to songs about being “Change Makers” for the Earth! One or more Eco Heroes were chosen from each project to receive a special prize for their exemplary effort.
Earth Force Projects Presented at the 12th Annual Youth Environmental Summit:
Mr. David Stanford's 7th grade class at James Island Middle School presented “Project SCORE” (South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement), the Eco Hero was Andy Hill!
Ms. Eva Stratos' class at Belle Hall Elementary School presented their project in the form of an awesome song! The project was called “Change Makers” and their Eco Heroes were Justin Taylor and Taylor Oppold!
The Eco Hero for the James Island Middle School recycling tea
m was Destiny Austin!
Ms. Jenni Roberson's class at Stiles Point Elementary presented their project “Recycling Rules” and the Eco Hero from their class was Abbey Weekley!
Another of Ms. Sandie Nichols 6th Grade James Island Middle School class created a project called, “Saving Energy at JIMS” and their Eco Heroes were John Love and Samantha Smiley!
Ms. Jocelyn Hurley's class from Charleston Day School presented a slide show with information from their Charter and also some pictures from their project. Their Eco Hero was Noah Thesing!
Yet another amazing James Island Middle School class worked on “Oyster Recycling” and created a video to show us their hard work! Their teacher was Ms. Sandie Nichols and their Eco Heroes were Rebekah Lewis, Tania Brown, and Montana Mahan!
Congratulations to all of the incredible students , Eco Heroes, and teachers who have worked so hard on these amazing projects. Many thanks to our sponsors: Piggly Wiggly, SCANA, Staples, Alcoa, James Island County Park, Publix and Earth Fare!
