In December 2021, GFP student Brittany Bauer and her environmental club at Wyoming East High School in New Richmond, West Virginia, were selected as 2021-2022 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow State Winners. Each year Samsung hosts a $2 million national competition for public schools grades 6–12 in which students are asked to consider how science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can be used to create change in their communities. With the help of their teachers, students can apply to the contest and compete to win up to $100,000 in prizes for their school, plus the opportunity to work with Samsung employees to develop their prototypes. Follow Bauer and her student’s Solve for Tomorrow journey on Instagram @WEHSFriends.

Bauer and her students received a Volunteer West Virginia mini-grant, recognizing their dedication toward solving plastic pollution. Bauer’s students were inspired by her 2021 summer Earth Expeditions (EE) experience in Baja, where she collected marine micro-plastic samples with the Aventureros, a year-round youth conservation program hosted by the Vermilion Sea Institute. Bauer’s students decided to investigate freshwater micro-plastic concentrations of their local river and to develop a social influencing program to encourage sustainable practices.

Bauer and her students were also featured in their local hometown news, the Register-Herald. Access the article here.