Students Build Community Resilience to Natural Hazards (and win $1,000!) in the RISE Challenge

Across the country, young people are bringing their creativity and motivation to improve their communities' responses to natural hazards. Earth Force is excited to announce the top winners in the RISE Challenge - a national program to help more young people take action to help their communities become more resilient.

DENVER, May 29, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Across the country, young people are bringing their creativity and motivation to improve their communities' responses to natural hazards. Earth Force is excited to announce the top winners in the RISE Challenge - a national program to help more young people take action to help their communities become more resilient to natural hazards.

Here are the 2023 winners:

RISE Challenge Colorado

1st Place ($1,000): Estes Park Middle School - Estes Park, CO

Project Title: EPMS Resilience Team

Project Summary: After years of evacuations due to more wildfires, Estes Park Middle School Resilience Team built upon their work last year to engage state officials about wildland urban interface codes and building practices that create resilience against wildfire. Students visited the State Capitol to meet with Senator Cutter and Gov. Polis to advocate for CO Senate Bill 23-166 that establishes a Wildfire Resilience Code Board. This Board will work to ensure community safety from and more resiliency to wildfires by reducing the risk of wildfires to people and property through the adoption of statewide codes and standards. This Bill was signed May 12th, 2023! In addition to their advocacy, the Resilience Team planted trees and participated in community events that bring awareness to watershed health.

RISE Challenge Big Sky

1st Place ($1,000): Glacier High School - Kalispell, MT

Project Title: Pulling Our Share

Project Summary: Students in Montana face an increasing amount of uncontrolled wildfires. Part of the issue is that forests are being altered at an increasing rate thanks to the growing population of noxious invasive weeds. After a forest fire, invasive weeds have a blank canvas to grow before the indigenous plants have a chance to take root. Their solution? Increase their community's resilience to wildfires by organizing noxious weed pulling groups. This will give the native species a better chance to repopulate after a wildfire before the noxious weeds can take over.

RISE Challenge Illinois

1st Place ($1,000): Libertyville High School

Project Title: Libertyville APES-Eastern Shoreline Erosion

Project Summary: After being unable to use their school's field due to ongoing flooding, the winning students wanted to make a change. The students decided to install a native pollinator buffer strip along a 300 foot section of frequently flooded (and therefore unusable) land between their school's softball practice field and a nearby lake. The project will mitigate flooding, create habitats for pollinators, and educate the community about pollinators, native plants, and stewardship.

"The importance of being resilient in the face of natural hazards is universal," says Vince Meldrum, President and CEO at Earth Force. "Resilience emerges from the ability of communities, with support from all levels of government and the private sector, to plan and prepare for, respond to, recover from, and adapt to new conditions. The RISE Challenge is a proven method for young people to participate in these efforts."

About Earth Force:

Earth Force is a national 501(c)3 organization. We are the home of Environmental Action Civics. Our mission is to engage young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future. Through Earth Force and its network of partners, young people get hands-on, real-world opportunities to practice civic skills, acquire a deep understanding of the environment, and develop the skills and motivation to become lifelong leaders in addressing community issues. Visit www.earthforce.org to learn more.

About the RISE Challenge:

The RISE Challenge is a partnership among FEMA, Earth Force, the ASFPM Foundation, and local environmental partners. Part classroom lesson, part competition, and part summit, the Challenge engages students in the exploration of their communities to determine their vulnerabilities to natural disasters and tasks them with developing their own ideas for making their community more resilient. Learn more at www.earthforce.org/rise

Pull Quote

Earth Force is excited to announce the top winners in the RISE Challenge - a national program to help more young people take action to help their communities become more resilient.

Media Contact

Alyssa McConkey, Earth Force, 1 3034330016, [email protected], www.earthforce.org

SOURCE Earth Force