On Earth Day, April 22, students across British Columbia will celebrate their entries in the second annual BC Green Games, Science World's province-wide contest that rewards students' eco-actions. Winners of the contest, including Windermere Community Secondary School, were announced on April 16 and will receive $1,000 each for their school. Viewer's Choice winners will also receive $500 for their school.

"We continue to be inspired by the students who participate in BC Green Games," says Pauline Finn, vice president of Community Outreach with Science World. "They show us all what can be accomplished when you not only talk about being eco-conscious, but take action to be green."

Students from Windermere Community School won in the secondary school category and a viewer's choice award for their project, "Aquaponics." Windermere's already established greenhouse now has an aquaponics system where fish provide bacteria that is then converted into food for the plants. Partnering with community members and horticulturalists, students learned about sustainable agricultural practices and it provided an excellent hands-on learning opportunity for science and social studies departments. Watch the project video here.

A second team from Windermere Community School won a special viewer's choice special prize for their project, "ECHO."  Education Creating High School Opportunities (ECHO) was conceived by four students in April of 2009. It has now grown into an active environmental group that has reached out to students across the Vancouver school district. They organized a climate conference in December 2009 that brought together 250 students from over 20 schools in the lower mainland. Watch ECHO's video here.

In the group's proposal they wrote "We feel that ECHO will be a model for other districts to mimic and execute; therefore being the stepping stone to future environmental change at the VSB level. Our meetings take place at the VSB building to ensure that the neutrality is beneficial for all participants. This project is important on many different levels. First of all, we are able to show our communities and eventually society how important it is to show others how the youth of today can make a positive change. On the other hand, our goal is to create this connection within the youth in order to implement new initiatives."

All projects can be viewed at bcgreengames.ca.

Winners will be recognized in a special event beginning at 10:00am on April 22 at TELUS World of Science..

Science World manages BC Green Games with input from government, school district, university, science and environmental education community partners. Presenting sponsors are BC Hydro and Terasen Gas.

"Education and awareness are key to creating a conservation culture in B.C.," says Larina Lopez, the senior manager of Community Investment, Outreach and Education at BC Hydro. "BC Hydro is pleased to support BC Green Games and encourage youth to take leadership in sustainability and build a conservation ethic."

"Terasen is committed to the sustainable and environmentally-sound use of energy, so supporting an energy efficiency and conservation initiative like BC Green Games is a natural choice," says Sarah Smith, the manager of Marketing and Energy Efficiency at Terasen Gas.