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EPA Presents President's Environmental Youth Awards; East Meadow, N.Y. School Honored

Release Date: 04/23/1998
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(#98038) New York, N.Y. -- The Save The Earth Club at McVey Elementary School in East Meadow, New York was honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a President's Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) for its efforts to improve the local environment. The award recognizes young people who become an environmental force, individually or collectively, within their community. Each year, EPA selects ten winners from across the country, one from each EPA region. Three additional winners are selected from EPA Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Save the Earth Club was a regional winner.

The Save The Earth Club at McVey Elementary has helped educate the community about the importance of recycling by holding a holiday can and bottle recycling drive to raise funds for needy families. In addition, the club held an ecology fair with environmental exhibits. Club members also participate in the adoption of stranded whales, turtles and seals; and publish a newsletter that gives the reader ideas that they can implement in their homes to help protect the environment.

"Children are the future stewards of our environment, so it is important that we recognize and encourage their efforts to make our world a cleaner and healthier place," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "If the youth of today show a fraction of the environmental initiative and ingenuity of these PEYA winners, then I know Mother Nature will be in good hands."

Young people from Scotch Plains, New Jersey; Staten Island, New York; and Manati, Puerto Rico also won PEYA honors and were recognized for their outstanding efforts to protect the environment. Each organization received a plaque, and each student received a certificate signed by President Clinton at an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 environmental awards ceremony held today at the U.S. Court of International Trade in downtown Manhattan. The national winner, the Union Catholic Environmental Club of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, accepted its award from EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner during a ceremony held March 26 in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the PEYA program, or to apply for a PEYA award in the future, please contact Cecilia Echols, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at 212-637-3675.

For more information contact:
Mary Mears, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3669 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: mears.mary@epamail.epa.gov