LOS ANGELES STUDENTS HONORED BY SIEMENS FOUNDATION AND DISCOVERY EDUCATION IN SIEMENS WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD CHALLENGE

The Siemens Foundation and Discovery Education have named three teams of high school students from The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles as national finalists in the 2014 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. 

High school students from across the country participated in this year’s competition and were challenged to address an environmental issue related to energy, biodiversity, land management, water conservation and cleanup, and/or air and climate.  Under the guidance of a teacher, Archer School for Girls students created sustainable, replicable solutions for their community and their world using digital curriculum designed by Discovery Education.

The recognized teams included:

-Team “CADillac Girls” who researched the extent of the Los Angeles River trash problem and used a handmade model river constructed from plywood to replicate its environment.

-Team “Magical Cows” who tested to see if anaerobic digestion is a cleaner process to yield energy than the burning of fossil fuels.

-Team “REBL” who conducted multiple experiments in order to advocate the use of hemp as a more beneficial material for Starbucks coffee lids than the current lids being used, which are made of polystyrene.

As part of a rigorous three-part judging process, an esteemed panel of environmental advocates, STEM professionals, science teachers and professors selected this year’s winners based on each project’s viable solution to a real world environmental challenge. Each member of the teams will receive a finalist certificate and a Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge green prize pack. The Archer School for Girls will also receive a congratulatory Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge banner.

“Now, more than ever, environmental issues are at the forefront of our national discussion.  These students bring fresh perspectives with new and exciting solutions that affect change,” said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “The Siemens Foundation and Siemens’ 53,000 employees are inspired by the innovation of these students.”

The national K-12 challenge is designed to encourage students to tackle environmental issues in their own communities and seek solutions to those problems. Nearly 100,000 of today’s youth have participated in the Challenge since it was introduced, proving themselves as “Agents of Change” in their own communities.  In the past, Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge winners and participants have run grassroots campaigns to reduce energy consumption at their schools. Others designed a pilot program to recycle food waste to create energy and tested the program in their town.

As a result of the Challenge, past winners have gone on to present their projects at the United Nations and the White House Science Fair, to the Chief Administrator of the EPA, and to other national, regional and local officials. Many projects have gone on to change schools’ policies and inspire new ideas for politicians to craft green legislation.

For more information on the Challenge, the national winners and finalists and their projects, visit: www.wecanchange.com.