All News Releases By Date

Second-graders honored at White House for worms project

Release Date: 04/20/2006
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, (213) 244-1815

LOS ANGELES – A group of second grade students from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Palm Desert, Calif. were honored at the White House today for their participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Youth Awards, which celebrates youthful dedication to environmental issues.

After meeting in their language Enrichment Academic Program, the students crafted “The Wonderful, Weird World of Worms,” a tale of environmental protection performed through a multimedia CD, the fictionalized “Diary of a Red Worm...Our Journey to School,” a musical slideshow of Great Worm Art, and a puppet show featuring the song “The Worms Crawl In,” a tale of vermi-composting.

The students also wrote, directed, performed, and produced a training video for the school lunch recycle project and a public service announcement shown throughout Southern California, emphasizing the importance of recycling.

“The Wonderful, Weird World of Worms provides an excellent example of how school children can remind all of us of the importance of environmental issues such as composting,” said Wayne Nastri, administrator of the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Office. “The students and faculty at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School showed remarkable creativity and knowledge in creating this public awareness campaign.”

The Abraham Lincoln Elementary School students honored by the EPA are:
• Brianna Clark Mira Oviedo
• Jarrod Davis Giselle Quintana-Reyna
• Riley Downes Aricel Rojo-Lopez
• MeKai Ely Nikolas Sharp
• Damian Alex Enriquez Marina Valdez
• Miranda Hadaway Teresa Valenzuela
• Teresa Lai Liam Withrow
• Destiny Longo-Bunn
• Elma Mahmic Brandon Whisman/Caudill


Since 1971, the EPA has sponsored the President’s Environmental Youth Awards, recognizing young people across America for projects that demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Young people in all 50 states and the U.S. territories are invited to participate in the program.

For more information on the Presidential Environmental Youth Awards, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/enviroed/awards.html