A pair of students form West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School in Indiana have been award the President’s Environmental Youth Award for their project, Confront the Climate Crisis.
In a July 7 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency news release, Regional 5 bestowed the honors on Ethan Bledsoe and Anna Prokopy. The EPA noted the award was created by the Environmental Education Act of 1970 and recognizes outstanding community-based environmental projects by students.
“Children are naturally curious and the environment around us harbors so much diversity and opportunity for discovery,” EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore said in the news release.
Prokopy, who is co-founder of Confront the Climate Crisis, noted the team pulled together to present climate action and education to the Hoosier State, and to be recognized for those will drive them to continue to strive to make a difference in their communities.
“Confront the Climate Crisis is beyond honored to receive this award,” Prokopy said. “For over three years, we have worked passionately as a team to bring climate action and climate education to Indiana, and this recognition for our efforts motivates us to continue pursuing the change that we hope to see. We hope that the work we have done and the success we have had inspires others to step up in their own communities to confront the climate crisis.”
According to the news release, Confront Climate Change was founded to increase awareness about the climate and drive STEM-based climate programs. The group backed climate legislation that has made its way to the state legislature, including Senate Bill 255 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, both submitted to the state senate earlier this year.
