COLUMBIA -- Hilton Head High School has been selected as the latest Champion of the Environment for their transformation of a neglected courtyard into an outdoor natural learning area, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“This project empowers students to take an active role in educating future generations about our environment and conservation,” said Laura Gottardo, teacher and advisor to the Student Training Empowerment Program at the school.
Gottardo said STEP students work with mentors from the Coastal Carolina Discovery Museum to choose native plants to provide beneficial habitat for native wildlife including native butterflies whose host plants are in short supply in the Hilton Head area. Museum staff also help students design conservation lessons to present to younger students.
For being chosen as a Champion of the Environment, the STEP program will receive $500 to use toward their project. Other rewards include Champions give-away items and a commercial about the project that will air on WIS-TV 10 in Columbia.
Champions of the Environment is in its 14th year of promoting environmental education by providing reward and recognition. The program is sponsored by DHEC, International Paper, Eastman Chemical Company and WIS-TV.
Applications for the Champions of the Environment Monthly Award Program are accepted until the end of March 2007. For more information, visit the Champions’ Web site, www.scdhec.gov/champions, or call (803) 898-4394.