Students Win Environmental Challenge

A team of five students from Ben Franklin Academy’s Green Club, has won $10,000 in the first phase of the Water Competition of the Lexus Eco Challenge, a national contest that encourages middle and high school students to develop and implement environmental programs that positively impact their communities. Ben Franklin’s Green Club is one of seventeen winning teams in the country. All winning teams will be invited to participate in the Final Challenge during Earth Month in April 2009 for a chance to win a grand prize of $50,000 in grants and scholarships.

Ben Franklin’s Green Club, under the guidance of faculty member James Watson, recently launched the Saving Water in Georgia (S.W.I.G.) Campaign to increase awareness about simple steps that homes and businesses can take to reduce water consumption both in gardens and in homes or buildings. The initiative uses a website, www.savingwateringeorgia.com (hosted on the “world’s greenest web server”); social networking groups; as well as presentations and informative booklets to reach the local community and beyond with their message of conservation.

The Lexus Eco Challenge, created by Lexus, the luxury automaker; and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, was designed to educate young people about the environment and to inspire them to create a better world, one community at a time. The students at Ben Franklin Academy accepted the challenge to prove that a small group can bring big changes to the environment.