Louis Risher, a St. Michaels High School (SMHS) 11th grader, was surprised at this morning’s school awards assembly to learn he had been awarded the Hannah Prize for creative thinking on environmental issues.
The Hannah Prize was created by St. Michaels resident Ann Hymes to celebrate her daughter Hannah’s unbounded energy, creativity, and desire to save and cherish the environment. The competition was open to St. Michaels High School and Chesapeake College students.
“If you had $5,000, how would you contribute to environmental sustainability, innovation, or climate study?” A panel of judges determined that Risher best answered the question with a thoughtful plan that not only benefits his school and community, but inspires others.
The judges, all enthusiastic environmental stewards, were:
-Hymes, a retired real estate broker who is passionate about sustainable communities and was instrumental in bringing curbside recycling to St. Michaels,
-Briggs Cunningham, Energy Programs Manager for the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College, who is committed to the integration of ecological and social values, and
-Margo Bailey, longtime mayor of Chestertown, MD, who has a keen interest in green technology and finding hands-on solutions to environmental issues.
The judges chose three finalists: Risher, Julianna Burns, a SMHS 9th grader, and Patrick Barnhart, a Chesapeake College student. Each submitted an interesting and creative proposal, and Risher’s stood out because of his interest in involving and inspiring others.
Risher’s project is threefold – starting with small changes at his school, expanding to his larger St. Michaels community, and continuing by making a difference a world away. Risher plans to set up rain barrels at the school, install LED lighting, and provide every calculator with a rechargeable battery. Then, he and a small team want to plant three trees in St. Michaels and organize a community-wide Clean Up Day to identify waste and pollution. Lastly, he wants to buy and donate Life Straws, personal water filters that enable people to drink water from contaminated sources, to people in Africa.
Risher’s winning proposal says, “Though these ideas seem simple, they are efficient and effective. Our Earth is the only planet we have; if it goes to waste, there’s nothing we can do. We must take action now and create a ‘greener’ world.” As Hymes handed Risher a certificate and check, he just kept saying with a smile, “This is unbelievable!”
Hymes announced that next year’s Hannah Prize, to be awarded in Spring 2015, will be open only to SMHS students, and she encouraged them to start thinking now about innovative ways they could use $5,000 to make a difference. Hymes emphasized that the Hannah Prize is a reward for out-of-the-box thinking about environmental challenges, a prize for ideas; it is not a scholarship. For more information, please contact her at [email protected].
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