Princeton High School Students Win New Jersey Student Climate Challenge

PRINCETON, NJ – Princeton High School (PHS) students from the English as a Second Language Science Classes and the PHS Research Program recently visited the Governor’s mansion along with their teachers for a very special occasion.

The STEM students won first place in the New Jersey Student Climate Challenge. The award is given to students who find an innovate way to address climate change in their communities.

The PHS students built off last year’s SAMSUNG challenge win and expanded the project to address issues of greenhouse gas emission.

In the SAMSUNG contest, the students came up with the idea to address food waste and combat greenhouse gas emissions by using the black soldier fly to bioremediate food waste. More: Princeton High Students Win $110K For Project Combating Food Waste

The expanded project now includes a greenhouse to hold the black soldier fly in large capacity to produce animal feed and bug oil, said STEM teacher Mark Eastburn.

“Since the project started we saved three tons of waste from landfills. I would like the students to keep the project going,” Eastburn told Patch.

Students have been in touch with local restaurants to collect coffee grounds and food waste for the project.

“I tell all my student to be weird and think out-of-the-box. It was all- hands-on deck to find solutions to reducing greenhouse gas and protecting biodiversity,” Eastburn said.

As the project continues, the only cost is related to transporting food waste. “The only downside is probably the smell, but it is contained within the new greenhouse,” Eastburn said.

Students are able to collect enough bug poop to incorporate into the soil which is showing great results, Eastburn said.

"We are also experimenting with using the black soldier fly larvae as animal feed instead of using corn or soybean. This also frees farmland for restoring the environment,” he said.

While two students from the current group will be graduating, the others will stay on to work on the project.

"We are looking forward to continuing this project and sourcing more local food waste. We are very grateful to Sustainable NJ and the Drumthwacket Foundation for recognizing the importance of projects like these, which we can't wait to keep going," Samuel Winn, PHS student, said.

The students were also very excited to receive their award from NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy.

"This was a warm and emotional experience. I am very proud of our team, Bug Power, and I really enjoyed the ceremony. I hope to return to the Governor's Mansion someday; the First Lady of New Jersey is very nice and we are grateful that we could be included," student Daniela González said.

Through projects like these Eastburn wants to instill the spirit of entrepreneurship in the students.

“My aim to see student gain entrepreneurship skills while still at school. I’m so grateful the students got this opportunity. They have been tremendously excited to work on this project for two years,” Eastburn said. "This is why I'm a teacher. There’s nothing better than to see students rise to the challenge.”

The students received a certificate, a token of appreciation and a grant of $2,500.

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