Lasting climate action was the focus of judging for $10,000 in CARE Community Impact Awards at recent expos in Kelowna and Vernon.
At the Climate Action Ripple Effect (CARE) Expo in Vernon, 33 grade 7-12 student teams from School District 22 (Vernon) and School District 23 (Central Okanagan) pitched their projects to more than 40 judges including community leaders and climate experts and advocates.
Projects were judged on their local relevance, viability, and potential impact, along with team members’ collaboration and presentation skills. Selected teams in junior and senior categories received seed funding to grow their projects in their schools or communities.
“The awards were new to CARE this year, with project quality very high across the board,” says CARE program director Jo de Vries. “We were overwhelmed by students’ curiosity and passion for climate action, and their creativity in finding workable solutions for lasting local change.”
The following teams from both school districts shared the seed funding, which will be used to further develop their projects within their schools or communities.
[ninja_table_builder id=”21220″]Although not in the judging stream, a group of grades 6-8 French immersion students from Seaton Secondary raised $450 for The People Place. Team Resilience held a bake sale, did a bottle drive, and organized a gathering at Civic Memorial Park, where they raffled off prizes donated by local businesses.
Already planning for 2026, the CARE team is looking for sponsors to help fund even more awards next year. If you care about kids and climate, please reach out to learn more about this, and about being a mentor to a small project team.
For more information, please contact jo@freshoutlookfoundation.org.
