A recent watershed-focused contest not only showcased students’ environmental initiatives, it also showed that the world is in good hands with the next eco-minded generation.
On Saturday, April 26, the Top 10 finalists in the Caring for Our Watersheds contest gathered at the newly renovated Wetland Discovery Centre at Oak Hammock Marsh.
Delivered in Manitoba in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada and Nutrien, the program invites students from Grade 7-12 to submit a proposal to answer one important question: “What can you do to improve your watershed?”
As part of the competition, participants need to research their local watershed, identify an environmental concern and come up with a project proposal to implement a realistic solution.
In total, 439 students from 21 Manitoba schools submitted 304 proposals for this year’s competition. The Interlake was well represented in the Top 10, with finalists coming from Gimli, Selkirk and Warren, as well as from Winnipeg.
Kiera Schutz, a Grade 11 student at Warren Collegiate, was surprised to hear the news that she ranked among the Top 10.
“I’m in an environmental science class and our teacher had all of the students participate in this project. You had to create a project that was beneficial to your watershed, so I came up with my project called The Greener Cleaner,” she said.
“It’s a project that plans to implement eco-friendly cleaning supplies in my school and in the elementary school in my town. That would be Warren high school and Warren Elementary.”
After submitting her project proposal, Kiera received an email a few weeks later telling her that she made it to the Top 10 out of the 304 entries from across Manitoba.
“I was really excited about that. That entailed that I had to go to a gala and present my project in front of a panel of judges. I was really nervous. I was the last to present out of all 10,” she said.
“During the presentation there was a time for questions from the judges. The judges let me know after my presentation that they really liked my responses to the questions and that they were really well thought out, so that was really nice to hear.”
The four-person panel of community judges scored the students based on their environmental literacy, innovation, budget and inclusion of how their projects supports sustainable development goals. The judges’ scores were then combined with the students’ scores from the earlier round of judging. In total, $12,000 was awarded with cash prizes for the students and matching prizes for their school starting with $1,000 for first place. Nutrien, the contest sponsor, is also providing $10,000 worth of funds to help contestants implement their projects.
To Kiera’s surprise, the judges called her name as the second-place winner.
“It was really nerve-wracking, but once I was called, I was really excited,” she said. “I get $900 for myself, and my teacher gets $900 for the environmental fund at our school. And a separate amount will be going towards my project to fund it.”
First place went to students from Maples Met in Winnipeg for a project called Breathing Life into the Dead, which seeks to work with the City of Winnipeg to plant riparian plants around a storm pond and monitor the water quality.
Throughout the Interlake, other students also earned recognition for the environmental ideas.
From Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School, Natalie got fourth place and $700 for her project called Sustainable Flow: Redefining the Cycle, which focuses on educating students about more environmentally friendly period options.
Mackenzie got fifth place and $600 for a project called Free with the Trees, which proposes to design a book to teach Grade 1 students about the importance of trees while also co-ordinating tree planting.
In addition, Lilja earned 8th place and $400 for a project called Reduce, Reuse, Recycled Rubber, which aims to recycle rubber gloves used at grocery stores.
From Gimli High School, a group of students from an environmental club — Malakai, Vira, Beth and Liuba — ranked seventh and earned $450 for their proposal called Project Zero: Bus-Loop Forest. This project proposes to plant trees in the bus loop.
Manitoba program co-ordinator Kandra Forbes expressed appreciation for the students’ efforts in the Caring for Our Watersheds contest, which operates in Canada, the United States and Argentina.
“Every year it is amazing to see the passion these students have for their communities and their local environment. Many see the effects firsthand when they recreate at Lake Winnipeg, so they are inspired to make a change,” she said.
“Giving the students a platform where they can have adults listen to their passion and ideas, as well as support their project financially, is key to building the next generation of leaders.”
At the same time, Kiera expressed appreciation for teacher Amanda Dion encouraged the students to get involved.
“My teacher was super supportive,” she said. “It was great to have her through the whole process.”
And for Dion, she was filled with pride to watch her student excel with her idea.
“It was wonderful to watch Kiera mould her project into something that was practical and will make a measurable difference for the environment,” Dion said.
“It’s always incredible when the students become passionate about making an impact in their community. I am so proud of her.”
