Every entry makes a world of difference
Every student who enters the Shane McConkey EcoChallenge is a winner because they have thought critically and creatively about their environment and taken an action to make a difference. From upcycled art projects to beach cleanups; composting initiatives to banning styrofoam in their cafetierias; our EcoChallengers have done some wonderful things. What will you do?
Congratulations to our 2024 Shane McConkey Ecochallenge Winners
You are all Eco Heroes!
Extreme Winners
- 1st Sammie’s Buddy Bench Project. IN
- 2nd Waterroots. PA
- 3rd Nicolina’s Turtle Co. IL
Black Diamond Winners
- 1st CrushCarbon Challenge. NY
- 2nd Homeless Heroes. CA
- 3rd Dublin High School Envirotech Club. CA
Blue Square Winners
- 1st Tied SWEP Sustainability Clubs, North Tahoe High School Envirolution Club CA
- 2nd Pawsitive Impact – GHS ILC. CO
- 3rd Reduce The Bags. UT
Green Circle Winners
- 1st TES Renewable Engine. CA
- 2nd The Compostables. CA
- 3rd Atticus Puttgen. U
Rethink Plastics
Plant a Garden
Get Eco About Your Lunch
Host a Clothing Swap
feed your community
Upcycle Pet Toys
Expert 1st Place:
SAMMIE'S BUDDY BENCHES
Fort Wayne, IN
Sammie’s project started out with a mission to acquire buddy benches for her school. But when she found a company that took plastic caps and recycled them into benches the project grew.
A buddy bench is a place on the playground where children can sit that signals to other students that they feel lonely and need someone to play or talk to. Not only is Sammie addressing loneliness and bullying in schools but she is also producing these benches with plastic donated by her community.
After creating 3 buddy benches for her own school, Sammie, helped other schools start similar programs.
Sammie has helped over 300 groups get buddy benches and she has saved millions of pounds of plastic from landfills and the ocean.
Expert 2Nd Place:
WATERROOTS
Philadelphia PA
Waterroots was started by Joey Wu and is building a global journal of water stories to combat water insecurity. With a deeper understanding of how other cultures are impacted by diminishing water resources, a foundational respect will encourage unity and bring sidelined voices to the spotlight.
Joey worked with both local and international leaders to inspire community-based environmental impact. Whether this was a protest concert in Philly or a river cleanup in Cameroon, many meaningful projects were implemented to combat heightening water insecurity through local education movements.
Expert 3rd Place:
Nicolina's Turtle Co.
Rock Island, IL
When Nicolina was 8, she saw a viral video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck up its nose and her life changed forever. For the past five years she has been on an education mission organizing cleanups, recruiting friends, and talking to city and state officials.
Nicolina started the Skip the Plastic campaign, where there are no laws requiring you to get rid of your single-use plastic, but instead asks eateries only to give these items when requested by a customer. No bans, no taxes, no mandates, but instead encouragement, huge cost-savings, and celebration of participation.
Black diamond 1st Place:
CrushCarbon Challenge
Scarsdale, NY
Addressing concerns about the detrimental effects of peaker power plants located in environmental justice areas, the CrushCarbon team partnered with the GridRewards app. A youth-led campaign was then launched to encourage Westchester school districts to raise awareness of the GridRewards app and its comprehensive benefits. They showcased how integrated community involvement could lead to significant environmental progress and foster a more sustainable future.
Black diamond 2nd Place:
Homeless heroes
Palo Alto, CA
Colin and Camille Chu founded Homeless Heroes to address the environmental impact of food waste in schools as well as the social impact of the homelessness crisis in the Bay Area. Hundreds of unused, fresh, and nutritious meals were being thrown out by their school’s cafeteria while hundreds of people stood in food lines across their region. After conducting diligent research on the need for nutritious food in nearby homeless communities, they developed a program to save these meals from landfills and instead deliver them to local homeless shelters.
Black diamond 3rd Place:
Dublin High School Envirotech Club
DUBLIN, CA
The Envirotech Club dedicated itself to addressing the environmental impacts of globalization through the creation and management of a Greenspace—an ultra high-density urban garden. Specifically targeting the challenges posed by long-distance transportation of food, the Greenspace initiative promotes a model of localized food production and waste reduction. They successfully mobilized over 200 students engaging them in environmental stewardship and hands-on learning as well as implementing sustainable practices like composting, drip irrigation, and the introduction of hydroponics and aquaponics systems, significantly enhancing environmental education and resource efficiency.
Blue square 1st Place - TIED
SWEP Sustainability Clubs
Tahoe City, CA
Our Green Teams and EcoAction clubs of Kings Beach Elementary, Tahoe Lake Elementary, North Tahoe Middle School, Truckee Elementary, Glenshire Elementary and Sierra Expeditionary Learning School chose to address the problem of waste created at school during meals. Through learning about our over use of single-use plastic and the excessive amount of food waste that is created at schools, students were excited to implement actual strategies for addressing these issues. All the clubs worked within their own respective schools to implement three major strategies for reducing waste during meals in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee area.
Blue square 1st Place - TIED
North Tahoe High School Envirolution Club
Tahoe City, CA
Our club started by building our background knowledge of the problems of fast fashion and the fashion and apparel industry. Learning about the immense waste associated with the fashion industry and impacts on the environment, inspired our club to take action and create solutions. One solution was to build a school culture of thrifting rather than buying new. To achieve this, we decided to host a clothing exchange we called “SWAP for the Planet” and also create outreach messages to educate our school community about the climate impacts of our clothing choices and solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change. Additionally, we were able to have guest speakers from the apparel industry join our club meeting to share information about sustainable trends happening in the industry.
Blue square 2nd Place
Pawsitive Impact
Aurora, CO
Our team is passionate about addressing the issue of textile waste by recycling clothing, dog collars, cat collars, toys, and more. First, we brainstormed and created various animal products to sell, including dog collars, cat collars, and toys, all made from recycled materials. Second, we secured a booth at a community craft fair, ensuring our presence at the event. Third, we tagged each product with relevant information, making it easier for potential customers to identify and learn about our mission.
Blue square 3rd Place
REDUCE THE BAGS!
Park City, UT
Our goal is to raise awareness of the harmful effects of single-use plastic bags and ultimately to achieve a single-use plastic bag ban in the state of Utah. Our action plan produced two videos to educate our community and advocate for a ban on single-use plastics. The first video was designed for elementary school students, to educate them and help them influence their families. The second video was designed for local policymakers. We worked with our school to organize an assembly to display our video to all of the students.
green circle 1st Place
TES RENEWABLE ENGINEERS
TRUCKEE, CA
Our Earth increasingly depends on non-renewable energy sources. This unit of study and hands-on experiments sought to teach students about renewable energy and its applications. This sought to bridge the connection to climate change and the use of innovative technologies. Students read grade level texts, wrote informational signage, built solar cars, built solar wind turbines, and used solar panels to power a water pump. Students manipulated variables with the power of the sun through the use of different sized solar panels, chose different styles of blades, motors, and car designs.
GREEN CIRCLE 2nd PLACE
the compostables
SEASIDE, CA
As a team, we researched proper waste management and composting techniques.We found that our school lacked sufficient trash and recycling bins in each classroom. To address these issues, we conducted an audit in every classroom to identify missing bins. Using this information, we ordered additional bins to improve waste management on campus. Subsequently, we designated an outdoor area for a “sorting station,” where students and staff can properly sort their waste. This initiative allowed us to introduce composting to our campus community. To educate our peers, we created posters and organized a sorting challenge.
GREEN CIRCLE 3rd PLACE
Atticus Puttgen
Salt Lake City, UT
My plan was to change our schools uniform provider to one that is sustainable, eco-friendly, and fair trade. I researched our current uniform provider, which is not sustainable or fair trade, and found information on where their factories are, what they pay workers, and costs of living in those areas. Then I meet with the Senior Director of Global Sourcing and Production for FIGS, a clothing company that specializes in medical scrubs, who explained the production process of clothing. With my new information I found other companies with more sustainable qualities and created a slideshow to present to my schools marketing division as well as the head of Rowland Hall.
Past Winners Highlights
2022 Extreme Winner Jonah Nazarian, Brentwood School, Beverly Hills, CAlifornia:
Our very first Extreme EcoChallenge, Jonah won for his Flex Charge battery, a groundbreaking development in sustainable battery technology that eliminates the use of rare earth metals, which are often obtained through environmentally damaging processes, reducing the negative impact on the environment. The Flex Charge battery’s moldable properties allow it to adapt to different shapes and designs, saving space and reducing the need for additional materials, leading to less waste. Furthermore, the battery can be mechanically recharged, eliminating the need for chemical reactions and minimizing the release of toxic substances and greenhouse gases.
2021 Winner: Ryan Hickman, San Juan Capistrano, Ca
To date, Ryan has recycled nearly 1,600,000 cans and bottles. Hundreds of people regularly attend his beach clean up events where hundreds of pounds of trash including tiny pieces of plastic is collected. Ryan also runs solo mission beach clean ups every week and talks to people about what he’s doing. Ryan speaks to classrooms all over the world about recycling and clean up events and has partnered with the Ocean Institute to teach 4th and 5th grade classes the importance of a clean ocean and how they can make a difference through their daily actions.
2020 Winner: Don't Drop the Top, Donner Trails Elementary, Truckee, CA
These kids collected over 400lbs of plastic bottle lids that aren’t recyclable in their area. These tops were then melted down and recycled into community benches. This program was so popular with locals that Shane McConkey Foundation became a partner to continue the program. Learn more on our Don’t Drop The Top page. To date, we have saved milliions of unrecycleable tops, lids, and caps and turned them into 13 benches spread throughout Truckee and Lake Tahoe.
2019 Winner: Hot Springs High School, Montana
A small school on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwest Montana, took on a big mission to reduce waste and educate their community. To combat waste in their school, the students took turns volunteering during lunch to wash dishes so they could replace the single-use plates and utensils. During the school year, they saved 17,600 styrofoam plates and even more plastic utensils from the landfill.
Additionally, they partnered with POW to host an Environmental Symposium that drew over 150 attendees, even calling their senators to support the environment. The students sewed 70 reusable bags from old fabric and received 200 more from supportive companies and distributed these to the community.