
				Pat Quinn, Governor

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Environmental Progress - Summer 2004

Young Environmentalists Honored at Awards Reception

Poster by Emily Heinz of Hampshire Middle School

Fifth and sixth grade students were recognized at an honors reception in Springfield on April 24, 2004 wrapping up the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's 17th Annual Poster/Poetry/Prose Competition. Twenty-nine of the 50 finalists attended the event, along with three teachers who came to see their students receive awards.

Named as top entrants in the poster category were Emily Heinz, of Hampshire, who attends Hampshire Middle School; Lauren Lee, of Willowbrook, a pupil at Gower Middle School; and Adrienne Strohm, of Marshall, who attends North Elementary School.

In the poetry/prose category, top recognition went to Kora Bestold of Bartonville, who attends Oak Grove East School; Kelsey Swindle of Lisle, who attends Lisle Junior High School; and Kim Whitfield, also of Bartonville, who is a pupil at Oak Grove East School.

The top six works as well as the other 44 chosen as finalists were on display April 28 - May 30 at IEPA's Springfield headquarters building. The top six winning entries are also featured on the Illinois EPA's website.

Poster by Lauren Lee of Gower Middle School in Willowbrook

The recognition program is promoted to schools that use Illinois EPA's Environmental Pathways' Curriculum for 5th and 6th grades. This year, more than 17,000 Illinois pupils participated in the program, which focused on waste reduction and recycling. After studying about the importance of reducing waste and saving resources, students were invited to draw a poster or create a written work showing what they had learned about the subject. The curriculum is available on the Agency's website at www.epa.state.il.us.