High School Students Win Sustainability Solutions Competition

Three high school students promoted the importance of going green at their school, and as a result, won the gold for their efforts in a national competition in June.

Marcos Sousa, Marcello Ribeiro and Ashley Rigonan, all students at the time at Cape Cod Technical High School in Harwitch, Mass., won the SkillsUSA National Sustainability Solutions Competition in Kansas City, Mo. against eight teams for creating a Web site that promoted a sustainable facility at their school.

The objective of the competition was for students to develop ideas and projects that demonstrate sustainability concepts, such as green building processes, alternative fuels, recycling, energy savings processes and alternative energy.

When SkillsUSA, a nonprofit organization that partners with teachers and industry professionals to support high school and college students pursuing careers in trade, technical and service occupations, challenged the students, they knew they had to find a way to incorporate their school’s Renewable Energy Center (REC) into the project.

Green beings grow
Cape Cod Tech’s faculty and students had been assisting in the planning and building of the REC since 2004. The facility, built using sustainable techniques and energy-saving systems, was to function as a classroom for students and to increase awareness of renewable energy.

After a brainstorming session with a few teachers, the students decided to build a Web site as an educational and promotional tool for the facility.

“We had not only one project of renewable energy, but we had numerous projects in one recreational building,” Sousa says.

Three months later, the Greenbeings Web site went live in time for the competition. The site features the REC building and explains its history and construction process. It highlights the importance of going green, and details sustainability projects in place at the school such as radiant floor heating, solar energy and the tri-gen cogeneration system (energy-efficient generators).

“They created the ability for people to globally access information,” says Larry Souza Jr., an information technology instructor and the school’s SkillsUSA advisor.

Working toward first place
Preparing for the competition was demanding: The students had to document the evolution of the project with research, pictures and a report of their results.

While Sousa and Ribero worked on the Web site, Rigonan documented everything that was required for the competition. Ribeiro says he had to learn a lot of code to build the site.  

“What I wanted to do was way beyond what I knew how to do,” Ribeiro says.

But with the help of teachers like Souza, the students succeeded. Souza says he answered the student’s questions, but challenged them to work independently.

“I try to encourage them to do it on their own,” Souza says. “When they’re successful it’s rewarding to me.”

At the competition, which was set up like a trade show, the team displayed the research and the Web site, and gave a PowerPoint presentation with a picture slideshow displayed on five different computer monitors highlighting the different sections of the site to the public and judges. For their first–place ranking, the team won a trophy, a toolkit from Lowe’s and each member received a $100 American Express card.

Souza says he was impressed with his students’ effort, especially when they met for 10 hours on the Saturday before the competition to prepare.

“I think when the heat was on and they needed to finish, they pulled together and completed the project,” he says.

Sustainable success
The Greenbeings Web site has attracted a lot of interest in the REC center, which opened Nov. 4.  Sousa says people will not only learn the importance of going green, but they’ll also learn the benefits of doing so.

“They’re going to know the money you invest, that you put into the building, you’re going to get it back [by saving on energy costs],” he says.

Beginning Nov. 4, the building will be open to the public for student-run tours that will educate guests on the sustainability projects.