The 11th Annual Greenlight Award® Finals: 2026 Edition
Eleven years, thirty-two students, one very busy Community House. Bedford 2030’s 11th Annual Greenlight Award® Finals brought serious climate action energy to Bedford Hills, where high schoolers pitched bold green solutions—from PFAS water pollution awareness to boosting mental health with a nature app to ocean acidification—with brains, heart, and style. This milestone event had one clear message: the future is green and student-powered.
Know an eco-whiz 9-12 grader who might want to compete next year? Click here — we’ll send you information when fall registration opens.
From Student Ideas to Climate Action
Think Shark Tank meets climate activism—powered by high school students. The Greenlight Award® is Bedford 2030’s signature student competition, challenging teens to dream up bold, practical solutions to real environmental issues in their communities. It kicks off each fall with the Proposal Showcase, a science-fair-meets-speed-dating event where teams pitch early ideas to sustainability experts in rapid-fire virtual sessions. From there, projects move into the implementation phase, backed by mentor feedback, milestones, seed funding, and the occasional mid-year pivot. By April, finalists present live to judges, proving they’ve gone beyond the idea stage—with real-world execution, measurable impact, and local buy-in.
Why do we do this? Because empowering young people to lead climate solutions isn’t just inspiring—it’s essential. And eleven years in, these students are proving that change doesn’t wait.
Turning Speeches into Spotlight Moments with Nicki Pogue
Weeks before they hit the stage, Greenlight students got a crash course in commanding the room, courtesy of public speaking pro Nicki Pogue. After introducing the term “Glossophobia” (the official word for the fear of public speaking), Nicki shared tips for presentation content, what to do with your hands, how far to stand from the microphone, and how to answer judge questions on the fly. A light-hearted, laugh-out-loud improv ice breaker loosened the students up and helped them practice their skills. Students fine-tuned their pitches to be as impactful as their ideas, because every great project deserves a great delivery. Thank you, Nicki, for lending your public speaking expertise to mentor our Greenlight® scholars year after year!
The Grand Greenlight® Finale
The culmination on April 19th at the Bedford Hills Community House was electric as 15 student teams pitched climate projects that tackled challenges with grit and creativity. One team measured indoor air pollution from stoves. Another took inspiration from nature to explore how vegetation, instead of environmentally harmful concrete and steel, can reduce bridge erosion. Another team built a prototype for a solar-powered system that oxygenates hypoxic bodies of water, rejuvenating these ecosystems. Others implemented on-site anaerobic composting systems at their school, experimented with natural deer protection to protect reforestation, and launched a campaign to bring climate education to elementary students. From moss panels to cool buildings and pollution capture to garden design to capture stormwater runoff, every project aimed to make a measurable impact.
“Bedford 2030’s Greenlight is a valued local youth-focused program in environmental stewardship. Students tackle real-world challenges in their communities. We empower high school students with the tools they need to connect to their community and make a real difference. These students are inspiring and give us hope for the future!”
PFAS? Not On Our (Water)Watch!
“Forever chemicals are a burning issue for both human health and planetary health; no wonder the WaterWatch Westchester project was catnip for the judges,” writes David Pogue, Greenlight Award® judge and Bedford 2030 board member, in his Eco Dude column in The Recorder. “In the Greenlight Award®, having an idea is not enough to win; you also have to execute it.”
This year’s first-place project, WaterWatch Westchester by Parvathy Gopikrishna from Horace Greeley High School, tackled a pervasive health issue—PFAS (toxic, carcinogenic, “forever” chemicals) in our drinking water. As recently as 2021, the NYS Department of Health issued a “Do Not Drink” advisory for the elementary schools in North and South Salem. Gopikrishna created a website, waterwatch-westchester.com, that uses open-source geospatial data to map local PFAS pollution sources, such as fire stations, golf courses, airports, landfills, and dry-cleaning facilities. Her unique algorithm aggregates this data to provide homeowners with their property’s risk for free (at-home testing kits usually cost hundreds of dollars). She credits her time spent observing water pollution in India as the catalyst for this project.
With my project, I developed a web tool to make it easier to identify hotspots for PFAS, and using this makes it really easy for not only residents to identify if they’re at increased risk, but also for governments and town boards to identify where they need to take action the most. If you are at high risk, you can consider additional water testing or water filtration systems, depending on what is more affordable for you.
Second Place Joint Winners
The Just Food Club’s Close the Loop by Eda Buyuk, Christopher Estill, C.C. Liu, Madeleine Stokes, Chase Talpins (Rye Country Day School).
The Just Food Club used existing infrastructure at Rye Country Day to track cafeteria waste and process scraps through a Zeus anaerobic digester, reducing waste and climate pollution, returning nutrients to school gardens, educating students, and creating a model that can be replicated at other schools.
The team educated more than 650 students, ran a food waste challenge, led Zeus tours, and integrated their project into multiple curricula. Their results: 22,809 pounds of food scraps diverted, 131.15 tons of CO2e avoided, and a Close the Loop toolkit for other schools to use.
We are excited to continue running this project on our school’s campus for years to come. We also hope to make it increasingly self-sustaining and eventually help spread similar models to nearby schools and, hopefully, campuses across the country.
Wildcats for Water by Mira Browning and Emily Hau (Rye Country Day School).
Wildcats for Water tackles stormwater runoff on their school campus. In Westchester County, the increasing area of paved and developed land has led to flooding, water pollution, and reduced natural groundwater absorption. Browning and Hau identified the campus location where most damage was occurring and designed a native plant rain garden to redirect water and filter out pollutants, improving water quality before it reaches local streams and boosting ecosystem health and biodiversity. Joined by 45 other students, they planted the garden and installed a brand-new rain barrel system at RCDS.
We really learned about hands-on sustainability and working with people in our community to help with our project.
Third Place Joint Winners
e-Waste Collection Drive by Noora Adili, Youanna Tenisa (YPIE: Yonkers Partners in Education). After discovering that only 22.3% of the world’s electronic waste was recycled in 2022, e-Waste Collection Drive deduced that education on electronics recycling is lacking. They held a bi-weekly e-waste collection drive at the school and surveyed 100 students to learn about their habits and awareness. Their project improved awareness of e-waste recycling and continues to facilitate recycling in their school community, with the intent to expand.
From Waste to Worth by Tsion Halefom (YPIE: Yonkers Partners in Education) Halefom introduced a composting bin in the school cafeteria, created educational materials to educate her peers, and encouraged participation. She rescued thirty pounds of food scraps from the trash and prevented 6.1kg of CO2 pollution. Her greatest challenge was obtaining timely approval from school administrators. Halefom’s advice: Start the approval process before you’re ready, because it takes time.
Explore this Year's Projects
Projects With Honorable Mentions
Greenprint: Kylie Harrington, Isabella Wilder (John Jay High School)
Excellent execution of project goals
Investigating Westchester County’s H-MRF: Christopher Mack, Jaden Ricketts, Maya Shetty (Environmental Leaders of Color “ELOC”)
Excellent identification and analysis of an underutilized solution
Ocean Blueprint: Marguerite McDonald, Daphné Panie (Rye Country Day School)
Outstanding plan for making a global issue locally relevant
Oxyfloat: Josie Choi, Mei Macintyre, Caroline Pereira, Ellora Shah, Chase Tucker (Rye Country Day School)
Outstanding creativity and use of technology
Reforestation Made Easier: Xavier Reilly (Rye Country Day School)
Excellent project research and analysis
Sustainable Scour Solutions: Aarush Dey (Rye Country Day School)
Best designed experimentation and modeling
Solace: Abigail Hehman & Delia Margie (John Jay High School)
Excellent development of a tool for change with scalability potential
Titan: Titan Ifedigbo, Joel Marrero-Gomez (Yonkers Partners in Education – “YPIE”)
Excellent application of science and an accessible solution for individuals
The Green Canvas: Adrianna Hernandez (Roosevelt HS Early College Studies)
Excellent stakeholder outreach and community engagement
Urban Bloom: Emmy Liang & Natalie Zhu (Rye Country Day School)
Strong long-term impact potential
Climate Court is Now in Session:
Meet the Greenlight Award® Judges
Local sustainability and business experts, including some Bedford 2030 board members, judged this year’s presentations. Thank you all for participating in this impactful event!
Susan Allport – President & Founder, Susie’s Smart Cookies; Greenlight Award® Sponsor
Susan Auslander – Resident of Meadow Ridge; Former journalist, publicist and fundraiser; Greenlight Award® Sponsor
Olivia Farr – Co-Founder, Director Emeritus, Bedford 2030
Alistair Hutchings – Vice President, Energy Transition Coverage, Rabobank
Nick Marwell – Advisor, Industrial & Clean Tech; Greenlight Award® Sponsor
David Pogue – Correspondent, “CBS Sunday Morning”; Writer & Speaker, Science, Tech & Environment
Karen Sabath – CEO & Co-Founder, TBM Designs, Co-Founder & Publisher, The Recorder News Inc.; Former President, Board of Directors, Bedford 2030
Tom Watson – Executive Director, Sustainable Westchester
And special thanks to our room hosts: Midge Iorio, Lauren Brois, and tech assistants/timekeepers, Lilian von Althann and Nicole Brady.
The Greenlight Award gave me significant hope for the future - the commitment, talent and creativity of all the students was seriously inspiring. I loved every minute of the presentations.
Backing Bright Ideas: Thank You Sponsors!
Our Greenlight Award® sponsors truly care about our climate and kids’ future. Thank you to our Climate Heroes: Vicki & Stuart Marwell, long-time supporters of the Greenlight Award®, and Susie’s Smart Cookie; Climate Steward: Meadow Ridge, a Lifecare Community; and Climate Partners: Kirtley Cameron Design, NYSEG, and NYSERDA. Additional thanks to La Familia, Katonah, for providing a delicious lunch and to the Town of Bedford for support at the Bedford Hills Community House. A big thank you to our photographer, Michael Porco, of Michael Justin Studios, for donating your time and talents to capture the spirit and smiles at the Greenlight Award® Finals—all photo credits to Michael Justin Studios. Events like this do not happen without generosity like yours; we are grateful for your support.
This annual competition is open to all high school-aged students across Westchester and kicks off in October. To learn more about the Greenlight Award®, visit bedford2030.org/greenlight/ or email greenlightaward@bedford2030.org.
