Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, February 19, 2010

SCAPA Bluegrass is among eight middle school winners nationwide in the air/climate division of the Lexus Eco Challenge. The students earned $10,000 by making it this far and will advance to compete for more cash prizes in March.

Eighth-graders Brandyn Duncan, Hallie Hensley, Kyler Johnson, Bay Phillips and Kiara Powell will each receive $1,400, with the remaining $3,000 going to the school.

For a science class project, their team designed a schoolwide campaign to encourage people to switch from using disposable plastic bags to more environmentally friendly reusable bags. The students then used the results to enter the national contest.

The Lexus Eco Challenge, created by Lexus, the luxury automaker, and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, is designed to educate young people about the environment and to inspire them to create a better world.  The contest encourages middle and high school students to develop and implement environmental programs that positively impact their communities.

This is the third consecutive year that a SCAPA team has won national honors. For more information, e-mail science teacher Ashlie Beals.

Archived article: Featuring SCAPA’s 2009 project on aluminum water bottles