VENTURA — On Friday, April 30, 7th-12th-grade students from seven public schools in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties participating in the MERITO Foundation’s EECCOA Challenge 2021 will be competing for cash and in-kind prizes with their environmental business proposals focused on water conservation, energy efficiency, or waste reduction in their homes, or to educate a community about ocean acidification. In the past, the program focused on reducing the environmental footprint of school campuses, but this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most students have been learning remotely from home. To allow students to participate, the challenge will allow students to submit proposals that reduce the environmental footprint of their homes. The main sponsors and partners of the EECCOA Program and EECCOA Virtual Challenge 2021 Awards Event are NOAA B-WET Grant, Ventura Water, Clean Power Alliance, and the City of Ventura’s Environmental Sustainability. The event will take place virtually on Friday, April 30 between 4:00 and 5:30 pm.
The EECCOA Awards Event is the culmination of the 9 month-long EECCOA Program. This year, 8 teachers from the following schools are working on project proposals with their students: Jonata Middle School (Buellton School District), Buena High School (Ventura Unified School District), Mesa Union School (Mesa Union Elementary School District), R.J. Frank Academy of Marine Science and Engineering (Oxnard School District), Anacapa Middle School (Ventura Unified School District), Medea Creek Middle School (Oak Park School District), and Oxnard High School (Oxnard Unified High School School District).
The Multicultural Education for Resource Issues Threatening Oceans, DBA as MERITO Foundation is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization based in Ventura, CA, dedicated to protecting the ocean by facilitating education, conservation, and scientific research opportunities to multicultural youth and their communities. The EECCOA Challenge empowers students to be environmental entrepreneurs by providing them with the tools to understand climate change, ocean acidification, drought and wildfires, and address these issues with money-saving project proposals for their homes. The EECCOA Program and Challenge are in its 6th year, and it has been able to overcome the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic for 2 consecutive years, allowing students to continue participating in enriching learning experiences from home.Donations will contribute towards students’ prizes and the implementation of their project proposals. Contribution today at www.meritofoundation.org