/PRNewswire/ - Creating rain gardens, building a biodiesel processor, and promoting the use of solar chimneys were some of the actions taken by the winning teams in the second round of the Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational program and contest that empowers young people to make a positive difference for the environment. The 15 winning middle and high schools teams in Challenge #2 were awarded $10,000 each and are now qualified to participate in the Final Challenge for a chance at one of two $30,000 grand prizes and 14 $15,000 first-place awards. In all, Lexus will award a total of $500,000 in grants and scholarships throughout this year's program. All award money is shared among the students, teacher advisor and school.

"Since launching the Lexus Eco Challenge three years ago, we've enjoyed watching as thousands of students have stepped up to protect our environment, and this latest round of entries did not disappoint us," said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "We've been impressed, humbled, and most of all, inspired by the dedication of the teams and their teacher advisors."

For each of the challenges, teams are required to define an environmental issue that is important to them, develop an action plan to address the issue, implement the plan, and report on the results. The Challenge #2 winning teams that best addressed environmental challenges associated with air and climate were (winners listed in alphabetical order by state along with city, team name. school name, and each project's subject). For more project details, visit http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/lexus/lexus-and-scholastic-announce-154390.aspx?ncid=12040

High School Winners:

• Florida (Newberry) "“ "P.A.N.T.H.E.R. "“ Providing a New Way to Help Environmental Restoration" "“ Newberry High School "“ "Green" Christmas initiative


• Georgia (Atlanta) "“ "Westminster Greencats" "“ The Westminster Schools "“ Reducing greenhouse gases and investing in renewable energy sources


• Hawaii (Honolulu) "“ "LEXgo" "“ W.R. Farrington High School "“ Preservation and recycling


• Illinois (Chicago) "“ "McAuley EcoMacs: Operation Haiti" "“ Mother McAuley High School "“ Built a biodiesel processor and solar-thermal heating system


• Missouri (St. Louis) "“ "Team Neon" "“ Parkway North High School "“ Addressed destruction of natural prairies


• New Jersey (Manalapan) "“ "Project Blue Sky" "“ Manalapan High School "“ Educated about renewable energy sources


• Pennsylvania (Souderton) "“ "SAVE "“ Students Against Violating the Earth" "“ Souderton Area High School "“ Encouraged use of solar chimneys


• Utah (Orem) "“ "R.A.W.R. "“ Rocky-Mountain Area Wildlife Research" "“ Timpanogos High School "“ Environmental research and education about effects of climate change

• Florida (Boca Raton) - "Tap In Too" "“ Logger's Run Middle School "“ Recycling plastic water bottles and switching to reusable water bottles


• Kentucky (Lexington) "“ "E.F.B.S. "“ Eco-Friendly Bag Savers" "“ SCAPA Bluegrass "“ Impact of plastic and paper bags on the environment


• New York (East Greenbush) "“ "Goff Gone Green" "“ Howard L. Goff Middle School "“ Conservation of fossil fuels


• New York (Rosedale) "“ "The Eco Team" "“ PS 270 "“ Air pollution reduction


• South Carolina (Hanahan) "“ "HMS Hawks" "“ Hanahan Middle School - Conserving fossil fuels by reducing energy use


• Utah (Holladay) "“ "Unplug the Thug" "“ Olympus Junior High "“ Energy conservation by unplugging cell phone chargers


• Wisconsin (Milwaukee) "“ "Bayside Pollution Revolution" "“ Bayside Middle School "“ Energy conservation by reducing use of electricity

In addition to the ongoing contest, the Lexus Eco Challenge also includes educational materials developed by Scholastic to encourage teachers to integrate creative lesson plans into their classrooms to help teach students about the environment. For each challenge, the Web site (www.scholastic.com/lexus) has lesson plans and teacher instructions including questions to help guide a discussion about the current challenge, facts about the topic, and guidelines for a specific classroom project.

The Lexus Eco Challenge is part of The Lexus Pursuit of Potential, a philanthropic initiative that generates up to $3 million in donations each year for organizations that help build, shape and improve children's lives.

Lexus

Lexus

Lexus is the leading luxury automotive brand in the United States, both in sales and in environmental stewardship. Lexus was the first luxury brand to sell hybrids and currently offers three low-emission hybrid vehicles with a fourth hybrid coming next year. When Lexus began selling hybrids in 2005, it helped advance the concept of sustainability without sacrifice. To bring like-minded individuals together, it also developed the Lexus Hybrid Living site (www.lexus.com/hybridliving) that serves as a portal for people seeking a way to incorporate luxury and environmentalism into their lives. The Lexus Eco Challenge is part of The Lexus Pursuit of Potential, a philanthropic initiative that generates $3 million in donations each year for organizations that help build, shape and improve children’s lives.

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