BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — Five students at Brecksville's Hilton Elementary School have been honored by the Environmental Protection Agency for their project to help save the monarch butterfly.
Eliza Chen, Eloise Chen, Emmeline Chen, Mary Rose Geiser, and Michael Geiserhave won the President's Environmental Youth Award for their Monarch Butterfly Project.
The Monarch Butterfly Project seeks to help inspire community members to help the butterfly in its migration through Cuyahoga Valley and Northeast Ohio. The team developed and delivered eight presentations to more than 50 of their fellow students as well as their friends and family about the importance of taking action to save the monarchs. As part of these presentations, the team provided seeds, materials, and instruction for audiences to build their own monarch habitat.
"The kids worked on this project when school was remote and the world felt bleak,” said Bridget Geiser, Monarch Butterfly Project co-sponsor. “This project inspired them [the children] to learn more about the environment and how they could make a difference. I was surprised and touched by the kids' enthusiasm and interest in learning about the monarch butterfly and ways they could help."
The President's Environmental Youth Award recognizes outstanding community-level environmental projects by kindergarten through 12th grade youth that promote awareness of natural resources and encourages positive community involvement. Each year, the award honors a variety of local projects developed by students, school classes, summer camp attendees, and youth organizations to promote engagement in environmental stewardship and protection.
“Children are naturally curious and the environment around us harbors so much diversity and opportunity for discovery,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “These awards recognize enterprise and leadership – in the classroom and outside its walls. We celebrate these students’ environmental stewardship.”
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