roject Green Challenge 2021 Finals! Featuring Champlain student, Myah Brody ’25



The next generation will lead us toward a just, sustainable, resilient future for people and planet. This weekend, the Project Green Challenge Finals brought us renewed hope and energy, as we gathered in-person with powerhouse Finalists from around the world, student leaders, mentors, ambassadors, speakers, partners, judges, and remote participants.
The PGC 2021 Finalists showed remarkable dedication and enthusiasm all throughout PGC, connecting with and acting on climate justice each day of October. They inspire with intellect and passion, continuing to learn, engage, change behavior, shift mindsets, and show up powerfully on issues that matter with new, growing intersectional perspectives. During the PGC Finals, Finalists excelled in presentations, mentorship breakouts, and a robust schedule of activities, including FLOSN meals at local organic restaurants, visits to redwoods, beaches and state parks, tours of regenerative farms, animal sanctuaries and green businesses, and fun, sharing and connection!


PGC 2021 Finalists in the SF Bay Area [Photo by Madeleine Welsch]

Seed Funding
We are proud to propel the Finalists’ activist journeys and grant seed funding to all Climate Action Projects, in addition to mentorship, resources, connections, and in-kind services as they develop, build and implement their CAPs over the next few months. Based on projects and presentations, our team of judges selected Promise Ikem-Nwosu, Will Layman, Shivangi Choudhari, and Ayanna Snowden to receive additional tiered funding.

Our team is excited to work with Finalists between now and the PGC Finals Part 2 in April (and beyond!), when each presents a completed CAP and the PGC Champion will be presented with the $5,000 Acure Green Award. We look forward to the real-world impact of these remarkable young leaders in schools and communities to benefit people, all species, and our Earth.

Congratulations to the PGC Class of 2021 — students from Colombia, India, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, and the United States — and all participants worldwide! This is only the beginning for the brilliant, passionate young people we have the privilege to work with through year-round programs. We invite you to get involved with Turning Green, tell students to sign up for Project Green Challenge 2022 now, donate to support our continued work, follow us on social media at @TurningGreenOrg, and be a part of our movement of changemakers! 


All fourteen of the PGC 2021 Finalists, after presenting their CAPs in person and virtually
PGC 2021 Finalists’ Climate Action Projects

Myah Brody, Champlain College, Burlington, VT: Myah’s Climate Action Project will add native bee colonies, plants and pollination gardens throughout the Champlain College campus to support biodiversity of insects, flora and fauna native to the Burlington area. Ideally, with student, professor and local support, the CAP will expand to off-campus areas to help support community biodiversity and grow native pollinator populations.

Amy Choi, The Meadows School, Las Vegas, NV: Amy’s Climate Action Project, the Sustainable Science Project, focuses on reforming hospitals and research lab recycling protocols by partnering with TerraCycle in order to recycle pipettes, latex gloves, test tubes, and other materials that commonly end up in landfills. 

Ilay Ghavidel, Farzanegan NODET High School, Gonbad-e Kavus, Iran: Ilay’s Climate Action Project builds on several key PGC themes to reduce the overall footprint of her local community. By implementing a schoolwide recycling program and selling the recyclables, her school would invest in a reservoir system that recycles A/C runoff to water gardens and plants on school grounds, as well as student wellness programming.

Vincent Kreft, Bloomington High School North, Bloomington, IN: Vincent seeks to break free of Indiana’s dependence on coal energy by implementing solar at his high school. Bolstered by a student advocacy campaign, he will create a cost benefit analysis to effectively demonstrate that an investment today in renewable energy will be more beneficial in the long term in comparison to sticking with Indiana’s conventional fossil-fuel-intensive grid energy.

William Layman, Alexandria City High School, Alexandria, VA: Will’s CAP focuses on implementing solar energy at his school, supported by an awareness campaign via social media and a petition to the school board to show overwhelming student and community support. His long-term goal is to inform and empower local community members to take action to reduce fossil fuel use.

Promise Ikem-Nwosu, Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Gbaramatu, Nigeria: Promise’s Climate Action Project focuses on ocean conservation in the Niger Delta region, helping to solve the problems of ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, and underdevelopment caused by the exploitation of crude oil and natural gas by oil companies. He plans to establish a nongovernmental organization that supports young marine scientists and connects them to opportunities for conservation work.

Ayanna Snowden, Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro, NJ: Ayanna’s Climate Action Project will develop a community hydroponic garden to grow organic produce year round and provide opportunities for local youth to learn about regenerative agriculture. Her project will require town council approval and fundraising through grants and community funding. Once in place, Ayanna will hold educational workshops to educate and empower the next generation of changemakers.

Lucas Sher representing Team Atmospheric Litter Stoppers (teammates Andrés deGrasse and Shiv Mohan), Jericho High School, Jericho, NY: The Atmospheric Litter Stoppers’ CAP seeks to build upon the steps their high school has already taken steps toward sustainability by implementing zero waste initiatives, including composting food waste and biodegradable trays and donation of usable food, rather than throwing away these items.

Luisa Restrepo of Team Earthlings (teammates Vasu Agarwal and Guadalupe Schmidt-Mumm), Colegio Nueva Granada, Bogotá, Colombia: Team Earthlings’ CAP is a school curriculum called “Helping Mother Nature,” which will introduce local students to climate education and action with the help of teachers in the school system.

Natalia Muralles of Team Green Power (teammates Daniela Thomas Salas, Mariana Garcia Alvarez, and Mariah Collado Woolrich), Universidad Anáhuac Mayab, Yucatán, México:  Team Green Power’s Climate Action Project is a plogging (picking up litter while jogging) initiative to encourage the local community and tourists to enjoy nature while also cleaning up trash left on local beaches. The team seeks to grow ecological consciousness among Yucatan’s population and foreigners, and support marine life by reducing ocean pollution.

Sofia Seidelmann of Team JYSM (teammates Julia Domingo, Yeshe Jangchup, and Maria Goulakova), Edina High School, Edina, MN: Team JYSM’s Climate Action Project involves implementing a sustainable waste management initiative at their high school to reduce food waste and littering, as well as a tree planting initiative. They will increase awareness for the initiatives through social media and articles in their school and local newspapers.

George Warfel of Team LCDS Green Committee #1 (teammates Laurel Marx, Caterina Manfrin and Lewis Baxter), Lancaster Country Day School, Lancaster, PA:  Team LCDS Green Committee’s Climate Action Project is to implement solar energy at their school in order to reduce the ecological footprint, save money, and serve as an example to the community to encourage green living in individual households. The team has already identified faculty who are enthusiastic about helping put the solar initiative into action, and the team plans to raise funds in the community to help offset the cost of the panels and installation.

Shivangi Choudhary of Team Nifty (teammates Jia Kapoor and Ishita Garg), University of Delhi, Delhi, India: Team Nifty’s Climate Action Project will implement a project-based learning curriculum in local Indian middle and high schools in order to increase climate literacy amongst students. This project was inspired by the fact that 65% of the Indian population remains unaware of the climate crisis. Team Nifty believes that improving climate literacy in schools will make a positive impact and lead others to take action toward climate advocacy.

Ariana Bracamonte of Team Q’UMIR LLAQTA (teammates Shirley Cantaro Ramirez, Angie Nicole Ramirez Florian, and Luis Valerio Cerna Ramirez), Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima, Perú: Team Q’umir Llaqta’s CAP will create a public compost program by placing composters in local parks for community use to reduce food waste. Through community organic waste and compostable waste from park landscaping and maintenance, the compost generated can be used in community parks, gardens, and more, as new landscaping material.

Turning Green is a global student-led movement devoted to cultivating a healthy, just and thriving planet through education and advocacy around climate justice, public health, and sustainability. We inform, inspire, and mobilize a global network of elementary, middle, high school, college and graduate students to become visionary catalysts for sustainable change in their lives, school campuses, and local communities through our programs, including Project Green Course, Project Green Challenge, TG Internships and Conscious Kitchen.