Project Polar Bear 2008 Winners
PBI honored Brandie Farkas, left, and Emily Goldstein, as the Overall Winners in its Project Polar Bear Contest. The teens created a website the encourages people to pledge to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. So far, they have commitments to save near 16 million pounds of emissions a year! Photo © Daniel J. Cox/naturalexposures.com. Click image to enlarge.
Project Polar Bear Contest Winners
Polar Bears International honored four teams of students from across the U.S. and Canada on April 24, 2009, for their conservation efforts. The teens competed in Project Polar Bear, a contest hosted by PBI with Frontiers North's Tundra Buggy Adventure as the major sponsor. The contest challenged teens to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their home communities. More than 30 teams took part in the 2008 competition. The 2009 contest will be launched on June 1 with a registration deadline of July 31.
The finalist teams and their adult leaders won a three-day trip to San Diego to attend PBI's Spring Awards Ceremony at the San Diego Zoo. PBI announced the Best Overall and Second Place winners at the ceremony and also honored the other finalist teams.
“The projects that the teens came up with exceeded our expectations,” says Robert Buchanan, PBI's president. “Global warming is not an irreversible problem—and these young people provide us with the hope that we can save polar bear habitat. We can take steps to reduce carbon emissions, keep the ice from melting, and save the polar bear.”
Overall Winner: Pledge for the Polar Bears, Louisville Zoo
Brandie Farkas and Emily Goldstein of the winning team took on emissions in a big way, generating pledges to reduce carbon emissions by 16 million pounds a year—and counting! The high school students accomplished this by creating a website about polar bears and climate change to educate and inspire people to make lifestyle changes to help solve the worldwide climate crisis.
“One ton of CO2 fills up a football stadium,” Goldstein said, “so we are very happy that we will save more than 8,000 stadiums worth of CO2 emissions in the next year. And that’s just so far—we have many more pledges to come.”
The teens continue to ask local businesses and organizations to take the pledge and have even talked with Congressmen in Washington, D.C. To take the pledge yourself, visit their website. As the teens emphasize, small changes from individuals can add up to make a huge difference.
Second Place Winner: The Canuck Nanooks from Winnipeg
Three sisters, Rebekah, Rachael and Miranda Vickery from Winnipeg, Manitoba, came up with 11 projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One, called “More Sense for the Environment,” focuses on getting coins back into circulation to reduce the environmental impact of minting. Last fall, the team stayed busy rolling thousands of coins ... and then lugging over 800 pounds of them to the local bank. This year, the teens are aiming even higher with coins drives in at least 40 area schools. The sisters dubbed their team the “Canuck Nanooks” in tribute to their Canadian Roots.
Finalist: The Green Teens from Portland, Oregon
The Green Teens from the Oregon Zoo—Emily Carlson, Jacob Shimkus and Sierra Sweigert—created a “Don't Be Idle” campaign that encourages parents to turn off their cars while waiting to pick their kids up from school (each minute spent idling releases a pound of CO2). Another campaign, dubbed the “Bright Idea,” provided community members with three simple products that reduce electricity usage, including compact fluorescent bulbs, hot water heater blankets, and under-house insulators. The teens provided the products at cost and even offered to install them!
Finalist: The Polar Bear Revolution from Pittsburgh
The Polar Bear Revolution team from the Pittsburgh Zoo—Brendan McKelvy and Tony Pittavino—visited elementary schools, senior citizen centers, high schools, neighborhood events, and clubs in their community to inform the public about the affect of global warming on polar bears and the need to reduce carbon emissions. They helped homeowners become energy efficient and inspired students—through talks, quizzes, and games—to do their part.
“Everyone who has encountered these teens from Project Polar Bear have been motivated to reduce their carbon emissions because of the enthusiasm and well-designed projects the teams put together,” says Kathy Myers, a PBI Advisory Council member and education specialist with the San Diego Zoo, who spearheaded the project for PBI. “Teens today are plugged into what is happening in the world around them and they want to be a part of changing the future. The contest gave them a way to focus their efforts and become involved.”
Contest Prizes
Best Overall Winner Prize: The “Pledge for the Polar Bears” team from Louisville Zoo participated in a tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes stop at the Polar Bear Plunge. They were also awarded with $300 (USD) per participant and a trip to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, the polar bear capital of the world, to see polar bears in the wild. The Churchill trip is scheduled for October 2009 and was generously donated by Frontiers North's Tundra Buggy Adventure. The trip is for four people and has an approximate value of $20,000.
Second Place Winner Prize: The “Canuck Nanooks” from the Winnipeg area enjoyed a Wild Arctic Encounter at Sea World San Diego, where they swam with beluga whales, and a tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes visit to the Polar Bear Plunge. Each team member also received a $200 (USD) monetary award.
Finalist Prize: The other two teams of finalists—the “Green Teens” team from the Portland Zoo and “Polar Bear Revolution” from the Pittsburgh Zoo—enjoyed a VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes stop at Polar Bear Plunge. They also received admission to Sea World San Diego. Each team member received $100, and a membership and prize package of PBI merchandise.
Polar Bears International received more than 30 entries from the United States and Canada. For more information about the 2008 Project Polar Bear finalists, or to read the team blogs about the projects and learn ways to reduce carbon emissions visit Project Polar Bear.
You Can Do It, Too!
Information on this year's contest will be posted on our website by June 1, 2009.
Polar Bears International honored four teams of students from across the U.S. and Canada on April 24, 2009, for their conservation efforts. The teens competed in Project Polar Bear, a contest hosted by PBI with Frontiers North's Tundra Buggy Adventure as the major sponsor. The contest challenged teens to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their home communities. More than 30 teams took part in the 2008 competition. The 2009 contest will be launched on June 1 with a registration deadline of July 31.
The finalist teams and their adult leaders won a three-day trip to San Diego to attend PBI's Spring Awards Ceremony at the San Diego Zoo. PBI announced the Best Overall and Second Place winners at the ceremony and also honored the other finalist teams.
“The projects that the teens came up with exceeded our expectations,” says Robert Buchanan, PBI's president. “Global warming is not an irreversible problem—and these young people provide us with the hope that we can save polar bear habitat. We can take steps to reduce carbon emissions, keep the ice from melting, and save the polar bear.”
Overall Winner: Pledge for the Polar Bears, Louisville Zoo
Brandie Farkas and Emily Goldstein of the winning team took on emissions in a big way, generating pledges to reduce carbon emissions by 16 million pounds a year—and counting! The high school students accomplished this by creating a website about polar bears and climate change to educate and inspire people to make lifestyle changes to help solve the worldwide climate crisis.
“One ton of CO2 fills up a football stadium,” Goldstein said, “so we are very happy that we will save more than 8,000 stadiums worth of CO2 emissions in the next year. And that’s just so far—we have many more pledges to come.”
The teens continue to ask local businesses and organizations to take the pledge and have even talked with Congressmen in Washington, D.C. To take the pledge yourself, visit their website. As the teens emphasize, small changes from individuals can add up to make a huge difference.
Second Place Winner: The Canuck Nanooks from Winnipeg
Three sisters, Rebekah, Rachael and Miranda Vickery from Winnipeg, Manitoba, came up with 11 projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One, called “More Sense for the Environment,” focuses on getting coins back into circulation to reduce the environmental impact of minting. Last fall, the team stayed busy rolling thousands of coins ... and then lugging over 800 pounds of them to the local bank. This year, the teens are aiming even higher with coins drives in at least 40 area schools. The sisters dubbed their team the “Canuck Nanooks” in tribute to their Canadian Roots.
Finalist: The Green Teens from Portland, Oregon
The Green Teens from the Oregon Zoo—Emily Carlson, Jacob Shimkus and Sierra Sweigert—created a “Don't Be Idle” campaign that encourages parents to turn off their cars while waiting to pick their kids up from school (each minute spent idling releases a pound of CO2). Another campaign, dubbed the “Bright Idea,” provided community members with three simple products that reduce electricity usage, including compact fluorescent bulbs, hot water heater blankets, and under-house insulators. The teens provided the products at cost and even offered to install them!
Finalist: The Polar Bear Revolution from Pittsburgh
The Polar Bear Revolution team from the Pittsburgh Zoo—Brendan McKelvy and Tony Pittavino—visited elementary schools, senior citizen centers, high schools, neighborhood events, and clubs in their community to inform the public about the affect of global warming on polar bears and the need to reduce carbon emissions. They helped homeowners become energy efficient and inspired students—through talks, quizzes, and games—to do their part.
“Everyone who has encountered these teens from Project Polar Bear have been motivated to reduce their carbon emissions because of the enthusiasm and well-designed projects the teams put together,” says Kathy Myers, a PBI Advisory Council member and education specialist with the San Diego Zoo, who spearheaded the project for PBI. “Teens today are plugged into what is happening in the world around them and they want to be a part of changing the future. The contest gave them a way to focus their efforts and become involved.”
Contest Prizes
Best Overall Winner Prize: The “Pledge for the Polar Bears” team from Louisville Zoo participated in a tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes stop at the Polar Bear Plunge. They were also awarded with $300 (USD) per participant and a trip to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, the polar bear capital of the world, to see polar bears in the wild. The Churchill trip is scheduled for October 2009 and was generously donated by Frontiers North's Tundra Buggy Adventure. The trip is for four people and has an approximate value of $20,000.
Second Place Winner Prize: The “Canuck Nanooks” from the Winnipeg area enjoyed a Wild Arctic Encounter at Sea World San Diego, where they swam with beluga whales, and a tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes visit to the Polar Bear Plunge. Each team member also received a $200 (USD) monetary award.
Finalist Prize: The other two teams of finalists—the “Green Teens” team from the Portland Zoo and “Polar Bear Revolution” from the Pittsburgh Zoo—enjoyed a VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes stop at Polar Bear Plunge. They also received admission to Sea World San Diego. Each team member received $100, and a membership and prize package of PBI merchandise.
Polar Bears International received more than 30 entries from the United States and Canada. For more information about the 2008 Project Polar Bear finalists, or to read the team blogs about the projects and learn ways to reduce carbon emissions visit Project Polar Bear.
You Can Do It, Too!
Information on this year's contest will be posted on our website by June 1, 2009.