Highest Awards Projects

Adriana Del Rio
Tinker Air Force Base Texas Horned Lizard Habitats

Adriana Del Rio, from Edmond, Oklahoma, is being honored for her Gold Award Project titled "Tinker Air Force Base Texas Horned Lizard Habitats."  She focused on addressing the issue of the Texas Horned Lizard species' habitat concerns. She built six new habitats, each slightly different, to see which the lizards liked best. Adriana worked with the National Resources Conservation Office to create safer habitats away from the gravel trails at Tinker AFB. The safer habitats will be monitored and sustained by the National Resources Conservation Office to protect the Texas Horned lizard species. 

Tessavale Fasching
Hike On

Tessavale Fasching, from Edmond, Oklahoma, is being honored for her Gold Award Project titled " Hike On." Her project focused on publicizing the unused trails, publishing the trail book online, and repainting signs at Lake Arcadia's Teaching Trail. She cleaned up the trails to establish the pathways that were overgrown and repainted signs. She also created a scavenger hunt for homeschooled students, visitors, and others to use while hiking. Tessavale worked with local press to spread the word about the new upgrades to the trail. She made sure this project is sustainable by having the Arcadia Lake management keep and distribute the printed guidebooks as well as enlisting other scouts, schools, and church groups to keep the trails cleaned up and continuing to spread the word about the trails. 

Ashley Matthews
Out on a Limb Playground

Ashley worked with Branch15, a transitional home, to build a playground for the children that accompany their mothers to the home. She wanted to give everyone peace of mind knowing the children have safe resources to play and be children while their mothers work the program. Branch15 will continue to sustain the playground for future use.

Lilly Thomson
Pencils with Passion

Lilly worked with Piedmont Public Schools to raise funds and resources for school supplies for schools in the Dominican Republic. Lilly created a non-profit called Pencils with Passion to continue providing support and materials to students in the Dominincan Republic that they need to thrive. The project is sustained through school drives and through the non-profit to continually gather materials for the schools in the Domincan Republic.

Olivia Stevenson 
Better Teenage Minds Project

Her project focused on teaching healthy coping strategies to teens to help them manage the stress and anxiety that takes place in everyday life. She worked with two Licensed Professional Counselors to learn the impacts of depression and anxiety on teens and learn coping skills that could be taught to other teens. She hosted events and online seminars to create awareness around the issue. She created flyers with mental health resources and gave others the experience they need to pass on the knowledge they learned at her seminars. The flyers are on several college help center websites and can be found in the help centers as well.

Avery Glinsmann
Book Bonanza

Her project focused on improving early childhood literacy in elementary aged children living below the poverty line. She found that many low income families do not have books of their own to read. She installed book vending machines at Lake Park Elementary in Bethany. She installed a machine where teachers can give students free coins as well. In one night, 125 books were distrubuted from the vending machine. The machine will remain at the school indefinitely and be replenished by different civic organizations and individuals ensuring the project is sustainable.

Faith Ross
Fun with Friends

Her project addressed the lack of equipment for pre-k kids to play on and with. All children have different abilities, and she wanted to ensure that the school had equipment for all levels of accessibility. Her project is sustainable by ensuring the toys are safe and durable for future children to play with.

Francis Meyer
Pollinator Garden

Her project focuses on teaching our future generations about pollinators, how pollination works, and the importance of this to the environment. She worked with Del City Elementary students and teachers to plant a butterfly garden that will be sustained by future grades. Adults and local churches will continue to donate materials needed to keep the garden thriving. Frances worked directly with teachers to create lesson plans that educate students about pollination.

Paige Hesse
Outdoor Classroom

Her project focuses on increasing educational resources and cleaning up the outdoor classroom trail at Robbers Cave. She raised over $2,500 for permanent educational signs to give visitors a greater opportunity to learn. The signs are made of wood and steel to ensure they are sustainable for the foreseeable future.

Madeline Eckhoff
Community Butterfly Garden

Her project focuses on the issues related to monarch butterflies going extinct. She partnered with St. John Nepomuk Parish and Schoool to build a community butterfly garden and teach students the importance of pollination. Her project is sustaine by the school and the teachers will continue to teach about the importance of pollination.

Sofia Shepelwich
WildCare Resources Revamp

Her project focuses on educating the public on how to help injured wildlife properly. She worked with the Wildcare Foundation to learn how to properly care for injured wildlife and created a "rescue packet" that is handed out to the public and available online at the WildCare's website. WildCare sustains her project as they will continue to use the resources she created.