PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the past 10 years, the Philadelphia Zoo has been helping students in the region learn about conservation through a contest.
The Philadelphia Zoo's UNLESS Contest is a year-long effort where thousands of K-12 students at area schools work on conservation projects. Students at Maple Shade High School in New Jersey were finalists this year.
“We got a greenhouse that we are going to build on our schools property," said sophomore McKenna Benstead.
"We also created butterfly care kits, so we got recycled mugs that would otherwise go into landfills. And we filled them with soil and gave milkweed seeds and wildflower seeds to our teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week.”
Another student, senior Taylor McHugh, added they're planning on growing fruits and vegetables to be used in their school cafeteria for lunches.
”A big part of our contest is raising awareness about the environment in our community, and trying to create sustainability for those around us," McHugh said.
More than 100 groups participated in this year's contest. The Philadelphia Zoo's Director of Mission Integration Dani Hogan thinks the contest shows the students how they can make a positive impact on the planet.
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“One of the big overarching topics about this program is to teach students what climate change is, how it happens and what they can do to contribute to it," Hogan said.
”It's about teaching people how these small and seemingly insignificant actions, like putting recycling in the correct can making sure that your trash ends up in a garbage can rather than on the ground, can absolutely make a huge impact on wildlife. Everything that humans do has an impact — positive, negative or neutral — and it's up to you as an individual every day to make a choice that could be a positive impact."
New Jersey took action to protect the environment — by banning single-use bags. Learn more on the Jawncast.