HHS students named finalists in environmental competition

A team of Hoover High School students have been named finalists in the 2013 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.  Team Cahaba was named a finalist for its project on promoting awareness of the Cahaba River’s biodiversity.

High school students from across the country competed in this year’s Challenge. Under the guidance of a teacher, students were tasked with identifying an environmental issue in their community, and creating a replicable green solution using web-based curriculum tools powered by Discovery Education.  The Alabama finalists from Hoover created a graphic novel to educate kids in grades 4-8 about the effects of climate change and human impacts on the Cahaba River. 

As part of a rigorous three-part judging process, a panel of environmental advocates and science educators selected finalists based on the project’s ability to creatively present a viable solution to some of today’s greatest environmental challenges.   Each member of the Team Cahaba will receive a finalist certificate and a Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge green prize pack. Hoover High School will also receive a congratulatory Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge banner.

“These students are the new environmental guardians for our planet and will help advance policy and technological improvements that will help protect the world around us,” said Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, president of the Siemens Foundation. “The ideas we’re seeing from these young students are amazing and impactful. The Siemens Foundation and its partners are proud to honor these students and their mentors for their commitment to environmental change.”

The national K-12 challenge is designed to encourage students to tackle environmental issues in their own communities and to seek solutions to those problems.  

For more information on the Challenge, the state finalists and their projects, visit wecanchange.com.