The HoneyBelles, a team of six science and art students from Mount St. Mary Academy, advanced in March to win a $15,000 first place award in the Lexus Eco Challenge, a national contest that encourages middle and high school students to develop and implement environmental programs that positively impact their communities.
After carefully studying the local environment, the HoneyBelles developed an Action Plan. They created a pollinators habitat on the school campus to protect the dwindling bee population so vital to modern agriculture. They also started a composting system to help sustain the garden and began spreading awareness about the importance of bees to the greater community.
Sixteen teams in each challenge, including Mount St. Mary Academy, won $10,000 in grants and scholarships at the end of November. All the winning teams were invited to participate in the Final Challenge for a chance to win one of two $30,000 grand prizes and eight first place prizes of $15,000. In all, $500,000 in scholarships and grants was awarded, with a total of $25,000 awarded to Mount St. Mary Academy.
The HoneyBelles plan to use the prize money to help fundraise for two organizations – The Bee Cause, a grant program aimed to educate young people about the importance of bees, and Bee Abroad, an organization that seeks to reduce poverty in developing countries throughout the world through beekeeping.