Deadline Extended for President’s Environmental Youth Award

The President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental projects by K-12 youth. The PEYA program promotes awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encourages positive community involvement. Since 1971, the President of the United States has joined with EPA to recognize young people for protecting our nation’s air, water, land, and ecology. It is one of the most important ways EPA and the Administration demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship efforts created and conducted by our nation’s youth.

Each year the PEYA program honors a wide variety of projects developed by young individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school), summer camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations to promote environmental awareness. Thousands of young people from all 50 states and the U.S. territories have submitted projects to EPA for consideration. Winning projects in the past have covered a wide range of subject areas, including:

- restoring native habitats
- recycling in schools and communities
- construction of nature preserves
- tree planting
- installing renewable energy projects
- creating videos, skits and newsletters that focused on environmental issues
- participating in many other creative sustainability efforts

PEYA has two parts — a regional award for Grades K-5 and a regional award for Grades 6-12.

Applications are due January 31, 2016. A regional panel will review applications from each of EPA’s 10 regions. Up to two winners will be selected from each region – one for Grades K-5 and one for Grades 6-12. If a group of students is applying from a variety of grade levels, they should apply for the grade level of the oldest participant. For example, if a group of students in Grades 3, 5, 6 and 8 is applying for the award, the students should apply for the Grade 6-12 award.
Each award-winning project will receive a Presidential plaque. All qualified applicants will receive a certificate honoring them for their efforts to protect human health and the environment.

Eligibility

Project is completed while the student(s) are in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Student(s) are citizens of the United States or its territories or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residency.
Project is sponsored by at least one adult.

Application
Sponsor must sign and date page A-2 of the application.
Project must be summarized on the pages provided in the PEYA application form (no more than 300 words).

Evaluation results consistently demonstrate that participation in the PEYA program is frequently a life-changing experience for many of the young people and their project sponsors, so encouraging your students to apply!

Click HERE for more information and to apply