On Tuesday, April 10, NoVA Outside will hold the seventh annual School Environmental Action Showcase. The event occurs at the George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. This event features the environmental conservation work of students across Northern Virginia. The students not only get to feature projects they have done, but see what other students of the area have been working on. Last year the event brought out roughly 1,000 attendees and is expected to exceed that this year.

The Showcase features programs such as the Caring for Our Watersheds competition, hosted by the non-profit Earth Force, which provides more than $20,000 in prizes and project implementation funding. Virginia Tech’s Thinkabit Lab gives the students an opportunity to interactively explore solutions to environmental issues using programmable sensors and electronic devices.

This year the Showcase also features the return of the recycled mascot competition, in which students construct their school mascots from recycled and recyclable materials.

“To have all these young people sharing their environmental research and solutions, you see the value they bring to Northern Virginia through their efforts, and also the power they have to drive positive change in their community. And they inspire each other to innovate, to advocate, and to strengthen their environmental stewardship throughout their school careers,” said Kurt Moser, co-chair of the event.

NoVA Outside is a non-profit alliance of environmental educators, teachers, and others who work to support environmental educators and increase their effectiveness. They offer resources such as networking opportunities and professional development workshops. They also host events supporting environmental education and involvement such as the School Environmental Action Showcase, Early Childhood Conference, and School Age Green Educators meetups. For more information, visit www.novaoutside.org.