From STAFF REPORTS

ATLANTA — Renfroe Middle School (Decatur) took first place in the Georgia Conservancy’s 11th annual Youth Environmental Symposium (YES) recently at Zoo Atlanta.

Dooly County High School was a finalist in the competition with its beekeeping project in which more than 30 students participate.

YES is an environmental competition hosted as part of the Georgia Conservancy’s dedication to education and is designed to promote and inspire environmental awareness in Georgia middle and high school students.

Other winners included Druid Hills High School (Atlanta) in second place, Laurens County Green Teens (Dublin) in third place, Atlanta Girls School (Atlanta) in fourth place and Greenbrier High School (Evans) in fifth place.

Renfroe Middle School students won $1,000 for their environmental project to host the 2nd Annual Global Warming Action Conference as a way to create community awareness on the effects of climate change.

As part of this effort, they created infomercials, experiment demonstrations and carbon footprint calculations, receiving top honors based on creativity and innovation and the ability of the project to make a real difference in the local community.

“All the students did a great job this year identifying and developing a project that benefits the larger community,” said Karen Garland, senior environmental education manager at the Georgia Conservancy.

“YES is a perfect opportunity to help students gain greater awareness of Georgia’s environment, while preparing the next generation of leaders in environmental stewardship.”

For the second-place prize of $500, students from Druid Hills High School organized an educational benefit concert in support of Trees Atlanta, while third-place winners from Laurens County Green Teens took home $250 for educating their peers and the community on the benefits of recycling.

Fourth-place winners from Atlanta Girls School tackled invasive species in their community and fifth-place winners from Greenbrier High School organized a carpool service and education program to decrease idling times at a local elementary school.

Fourth and fifth-place winners each walked away with $50. All prize money is used to enhance the implementation of the projects or to purchase school supplies.

Besides Dooly County, other finalists were Jasper County High School (Monticello), Jones County High School (Gray), Oglethorpe County High School (Lexington) and Tift County High School (Tifton).

All nine finalists traveled to Zoo Atlanta for the symposium, to present projects showcasing a host of environmental factors affecting their local communities or schools, along with implementation plans and results to solution-based projects addressing the issues.