Bulkeley High School Wins $20,000 in Second Annual Connecticut Light & Power Live Green - Win Green
Student Contest

Conard High School, Wilby High School and Staples High School named runners-up; each school wins $5,000 grant for green improvements

Bulkeley High School of Hartford has been chosen by a panel of judges the winner of the 2009 Connecticut Light & Power Live Green – Win Green student competition, earning the school a $20,000 grant to fund future environmental improvements at the school.

The Bulkeley entry was chosen for the quality of the video and essay, as well as their plan to implement a recycling program at a school that currently does not have one. Other ideas presented by the school included implementing energy saving lighting strategies and using more recyclable items in the school cafeteria. A key component of the Bulkeley entry was the integration of the environmental science into the Advanced Placement environmental science, as well as the participation the students had with the faculty in the development of their proposal.

The students who participated in the Bulkeley entry were: Gissella Jimenez, Whitney Vitale, Magdalyn Roldan, Jassica Mahadeo, Saida Cooke, Gerson Mendoza, Danny Castillo and Brandon Elvas. The student adviser was Deborah Davis, who teaches the AP Environmental Science class that entered the contest.

Three other Connecticut high schools – Conard High School in West Hartford, Staples High School in Westport and Wilby High School in Waterbury – were selected by the judges as runners-up, earning each school a $5,000 grant for their future environmental projects.

The CL&P Live Green – Win Green contest encourages Connecticut high school students to consider sustainable, environmental designed to make their schools operate in a more environmentally beneficial manner. Students, through a chosen faculty advisor or school administrator, were challenged to demonstrate in a two-minute video and accompanying essay what their school currently does to conserve energy and be more environmentally responsible, and to propose a significant future “green” project they would like to implement at their school.

The entries were judged by a distinguished panel of Connecticut educators and environmental leaders. Among the judges on the panel was Dr. Elsa Nunez, president of Eastern Connecticut State University; Dennis Carrithers, assistant executive director for high school programs at the Connecticut Association of Schools; and Heather Burns-DeMelo, who runs the Connecticut Alliance for Sustainable Enterprise, a leading environmental organization in Connecticut.

“We congratulate Bulkeley High School and the many students and faculty who worked so diligently on their video project and essay for their deserving recognition as the Live Green – Win Green winner,” said Jeff Butler, CL&P president and chief operating officer. “We also acknowledge the great work being done at the schools chosen as runners-up; Conard, Staples and Wilby high schools all had outstanding entries and should be very proud of their work as well. We are grateful to all the schools that entered, and we look forward to our contest next fall as we continue to encourage young people all over Connecticut to continue working toward a more energy efficient future.” The CL&P Live Green – Win Green contest was open to all high schools within CL&P’s service area. Student organizations, classes, clubs, individual students and groups of students were eligible to participate with the supervision of a school administrator or faculty advisor. Participants produced a two-minute video showcasing what they and their fellow students are doing to conserve energy and/or make their school environmentally friendly. Each submission also included a 1,000-word essay on how their school would use the grant money to “go green.”

Click here to see all of the finalists’ entries.