Gardens, Green Spaces, and Food Waste Reduction: 2027 FIRE Funder Celebrates EARTH Solutions in Houston

Green Heart STEM Challenge Houston Finale 2026

When the 2026 EARTH Challenge kicked off in January, students began learning about EARTH-related concepts, including food, forests, and soil. Then, Houston youth connected their lived experiences to local EARTH issues and potential solutions from a range of metro-Houston locations. Their student-led solutions were submitted in early March, with each team proposing an Action Plan … Read more

Atlanta Finalists Pitch Solutions to solve Soil Health, Rising Heat, and Food Waste

Bioware Solutions, Tucker High School

On the morning of April 15, 2026, nearly 200 youth from across the Metro-Atlanta area filed into the Fernbank Science Center’s Planetarium for a day of competition and celebration at the Green Heart STEM Challenge (GHSC) 2026 – EARTH Finale, powered by Amazon! Among the attending youth were ten finalist teams waiting to hear whether … Read more

Looking Back, Growing Forward: Project Learning Garden’s Journey!

Captain Planet at Veazie Street Elementary garden installation planting pollinators in 2017, funded by Dole Packaged Food Company

2012 was a big year around the world. The summer Olympic Games took place in London. The US won 46 gold medals – four of them going to swimmer Michael Phelps. And, the Mars Rover “Curiosity” successfully landed (and is still operational today). At Captain Planet Foundation, the first operating program, Project Learning Garden, began … Read more

Micro-Harvest Kits, Soil Compaction, and Sand Loss solutions at the 2026 Green Heart STEM Challenge Miami Finale

GHSC Miami Finale 2026

On March 18th, nearly 100 Miami-Dade County middle school students filled the Betty T. Ferguson Auditorium as finalists in the first Green Heart STEM Challenge (GHSC) in Miami. Captain Planet [himself] danced with students as excitement built for the pitching competition that would determine which solutions would take home the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place … Read more

Welcome to winter gardening’s seed exchange

Garden Bed

While garden beds rest until the cycle of planting begins again, the first step in germinating seeds is sharing, swapping, collecting or “borrowing” seeds. “Seed library checkouts” are infinite, with no late return fees, as seeds grow into plants, that generate seeds, that grow into plants and so on. Or, you can return extra seeds … Read more

Planeteers Team Up with CNN to Guard their Green Space

Elong Ngole Amtrong and his team conducted a stream clean-up at the University of Buea in Buea, Cameroon– bringing young people together and even answering questions to curious bystanders.

“It felt meaningful and alive. Like planting seeds of awareness even before the trees themselves.” – Emery Cyabashire, Burera, Rwanda This past October, Planeteer Alliance powered 21 youth-led CNN Call to Earth Day events in Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, and The Gambia. Across these 7 countries, more than 300 Planeteers participated in various climate-related activities and action.   … Read more

Planeteers at COP30: Youth Voices Take the Global Stage

Mafer Lara Buenaventura, Dejea Lyons, Natalia Moragrega, and Becca Bullen.

This November, five young leaders from the Planeteer Alliance traveled to Belém, Pará, Brazil, for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30)—one of the world’s most influential spaces for climate policy and negotiation. Amid heads of state, diplomats, scientists, and civil society organizations, they carried the perspectives of youth across Latin … Read more