FOSTERING A GREEN HEART

Supporting young people as they innovate and develop place-based solutions to the biggest challenges posed by climate change and environmental injustice.


The Green Heart STEM Challenge for Environmental Justice 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. Challenge submissions are delivered with a 90 second pitch video and written proposal.

The Challenge extends over the months of January – April, and is open to teams of 3-5 students, 18 years and younger, anywhere in the world. GREEN HEART STEM CHALLENGE 2024 is focused on WATER and will kick off January 15, 2024 with a special geographic focus on metro-Atlanta and metro-Houston.

Finalist Teams compete in a formal “Pitch” (think Shark Tank) to a judging panel of experts. Winning Teams (Elementary, Middle, and High) receive small implementation grants to put their ideas into ACTION. They are also invited to attend a summer intensive called the Green Heart Idea Incubator to work with mentors on implementing their solutions.

Registration for 5th – 12th grade teachers or youth group leaders opens November 7, 2023. Virtual Information Sessions will be offered every Tuesday in October 2023 beginning October 10th. To receive updates fill out the form below or sign up for an Information Session at the bottom of the page:

Green Heart Challenge Interest Form

Name(Required)
Email(Required)
Location(Required)
Grades Taught(Required)
Have you previously participated in Green Heart Challenge?(Required)

Register for a virtual information session
about the Green Heart STEM Challenge 2024

Every Tuesday in October, starting October 10th, at 4pm and 5pm EST.

CPF Joins Forces with Clayton County Public Schools for the CCPS Climate Justice Challenge & Summit: Green Heart Edition
Winners Selected for the 2023 CCPS Climate Justice Challenge!

The Green Heart STEM Challenge for Environmental Justice was inspired by the book “Living with a Green Heart” by Gay Browne; and was piloted in 2022 in Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia with funding from Accenture and private philanthropist, Susan Klein.