Will Showcase Students’ Big Green Accomplishments
The third annual Bedford 2020 Greenlight Award Finals on May 1st will feature high school contestants with big green ideas at the newly restored Bedford Playhouse in Bedford Village. “This is an exciting opportunity to see our future environmental leaders in action,” said Midge Iorio, Executive Director of Bedford 2020.
The theme of the Greenlight Award contest this year, Changemaker, challenged participants to not only come up with a big green idea, but also to prove that it could change behavior. “Behavior change is an important theme because causing people to do things differently is critical to the success of many environmental challenges,” Iorio explained. “The Finalists have caused people to change their behavior to address a variety of environmental problems – from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution and waste.”
Several teams from Horace Greeley High School have advanced to the Finals and will present their projects before the judges and audience. The Greeley STOP Club worked on an anti-idling campaign, another student installed a kiosk where people can take or leave reusable bags, and a third team tapped into people’s interest in donating to charity to improve recycling habits.
Community members are encouraged to attend. “Our hope for the future will be elevated by these students who have taken on this challenge,” said Sarah Douglis, Bedford 2020 Board member and Pound Ridge resident. “I bring my kids, who are in elementary school, to the Greenlight Finals so that they are inspired first hand by these high school role models and become part of this important movement of their generation of environmental leaders”
The eight teams of Finalists were selected from 19 initial teams from Fox Lane, Horace Greeley, Somers, Harvey, John Jay, and Rye Country Day high schools. Finalists received up to $1000 in seed funding and worked with community experts to develop and carry out their big green ideas. At the Finals, the teams will show how they worked with stakeholders, created and carried out a strategy, catalyzed behavior change, and measured their results. The most impactful project will win the Greenlight Award and a $500 cash prize.
The presentations will be scored by judges Kitley Covill, Westchester County Legislator, Dale Akinla of Morgan Stanley, and Caela Murphy of the Endeavor Foundation.
The 2017-2018 Greenlight Award is sponsored by PepsiCo.
The Greenlight Award Finals will take place on Tuesday, May 1st at 6:30pm at the Bedford Playhouse, 633 Old Post Rd, Bedford, NY.
For more information about the Greenlight Award visit www.bedford2020.org/greenlight
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Bedford 2020 is a non-profit organization leading a community-wide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to create a sustainable community that conserves natural resources. More information is available at www.Bedford2020.org.