When Maximo Luciani and Johannes Els, sophomores at Chamblee High School in DeKalb County, Georgia, first heard about the upcoming Green Heart STEM Challenge in the fall of 2023, they weren’t sure they could make a significant impact on their community. That was until they discovered that the nearby Bubbling Creek, located just behind their school, was suffering from the damaging effects of erosion.
The Green Heart STEM Challenge for Environmental Justice, powered by the Captain Planet Foundation, challenges young people to explore and identify environmental justice issues in their communities and to design feasible solutions to address these problems. Student teams work through a human-centered design process to develop equitable and feasible solutions to the problems they have identified.
The 2024 Challenge encouraged young people from Metro Atlanta to create water justice solutions for their communities. Each team learned about common water justice issues and then identified a problem within their own community. They then developed a solution which they ultimately presented to a panel of judges at the Green Heart STEM Challenge Finale Event in May 2024.
Maximo and Johannes submitted their solution to the erosion issue plaguing Bubbling Creek and their solution was selected as a finalist in the competition. As such, they were invited to attend the Idea Incubator, hosted by Captain Planet Foundation and Fernbank Science Center, to work on their action plans and improve the feasibility of their solution. This past summer, they spent a week speaking with subject matter experts, practicing speaking to stakeholders, gathering valuable data, and designing their plan for solution implementation.
“Attending the Idea Incubator allowed me to turn my idea into an actual achievable goal. We talked to professionals about the steps towards accomplishing our goals and we refined our plans,” shared Maximo while reflecting on the experience.
By the end of the Idea Incubator, Maximo had reached out to local organizations he could partner with to install a rain garden near Bubbling Creek. This rain garden would be made up of native species and would serve to slow runoff water entering the creek, thus reducing erosion and restoring the stream’s health. He also earned an implementation grant from the Captain Planet Foundation to transform his solution into reality.
Maximo didn’t stop there. Captain Planet Foundation assisted Maximo and Johannes in applying for Atlanta’s Youth Climate Action Fund from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which provides technical assistance and funding for 100 mayors to activate tens of thousands of young people ages of 15 – 24 years to design, produce, and govern urgent climate solutions in their cities.
The team was thrilled to find out that their application was accepted and that they earned funding to carry out their plan with even greater support. Maximo and Johannes quickly began talking with local government officials, purchasing materials, and working with clubs at their school to set their plan in motion. On December 21st, the team kicked off their work by the creek with a live staking event.
As they reflect on their journey with the Green Heart STEM Challenge, the team is surprised by just how much agency they had. Maximo explained that initially, he didn’t feel very motivated because he wasn’t sure he had the power to create change. “When I realized that I could actually solve an issue in my community I was very interested in the Challenge,” he shares.
This process also showed the team how many people are willing to support the work of young people who are motivated to address community issues, “If there was any advice we had to give to other young people who are pursuing similar projects we would tell them that you can reach your goals and that there are many people will provide assistance if you just ask.”
As Maximo and Johannes continue to pursue their rain garden at Bubbling Creek, Captain Planet Foundation remains steadfast in their support of youth-driven solutions to climate issues. If you or someone you know would like to implement the Green Heart STEM Challenge at your school, check out the 2025 Green Heart STEM Challenge focused on the WIND Element.