Students Take Environmental Action After Finding 90% of Ohio's Wetlands Have Been Destroyed
Yet Fewer Than 1% of School Kids Know What a Wetland Is

AUBURN, NY—April 27, 2007—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won three students from West Geauga Middle School in Chesterland, OH, a spot as finalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities. Sixth-graders Kelli Wright and Isabella Todaro, and seventh-grader Clay McMullen, and their coach, Irene Hirata McMullen, made it to the semifinals earlier this month, and now are one of eight finalist teams in the country to compete for the grand prize—the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant.

Wetlands affect quality of life and public safety, impacting issues such as flooding, erosion, recreation and biodiversity. Many birds, such as the endangered Osprey, depend on wetlands for nesting and survival.

Alarmed at statistics showing that 90% of Ohio's wetlands have been destroyed over the last two centuries, and their own survey showing that less than 1% of school students here even know what a wetland is, this team decided to take action.

They obtained a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to begin cataloguing and monitoring wetlands near their school and reporting information back to the Ohio Environmental Council database. They also held a 'bio-blitz' at their school involving naturalists in helping them catalogue nearby plants and animals as part of their newly established outdoor classroom area. The students have also begun to take their cause on the road to other schools and residents with traveling trunks of educational materials, presentations to school boards and other officials, and fundraisers to continue the effort.

A panel of community leaders, scientists and experts in science education selected this idea as one of the top eight entries in the U.S. Over 1,200 students and coaches participated nationwide.

The team and their coach win an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, where they will compete in the Christopher Columbus Awards National Championship Week, June 17-22, 2007, plus a $200 grant to further develop their project.

Each member of two Gold Medal winning teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond, and one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. The Grant winning team will receive support from the Christopher Columbus Awards staff and continued guidance from their coach and community leaders.

The finalists will also attend the Christopher Columbus Academy, a custom-designed educational program. Conducted by scientists, engineers and educators, the program reveals the science and technology behind the thrills and excitement of Epcot® and the Magic Kingdom.®

The Christopher Columbus Awards challenge teams of middle-school students to explore and discover opportunities for positive change in their communities using science and technology. The program is now in its 11th year, and has attracted more than 15,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation (www.columbusfdn.org) with support from the National Science Foundation, and is endorsed by the National Middle School Association. Past winners have included: a group of Native American girls who built a study hall out of straw bales on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and a team from Pennsylvania who developed a video/motion sensor device to deter motorists from trying to illegally pass stopped school buses.

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an independent Federal government agency created by Congress in 1992 to encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. The Foundation has established Frontiers of Discovery—Work in Progress and Discover the Future, programs that recognize "cutting edge" innovations, innovative ideas of America's youth, and honor teachers. These programs include the Homeland Security Award, Christopher Columbus Awards, National Gallery for America's Young Inventors and the $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award.

For more information on the Christopher Columbus Awards, call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com.