Each year, Captain Planet Foundation’s Green Heart STEM Challenge asks youth in metro-Atlanta and metro-Houston to form teams and identify an environmental problem in their community connected to the WATER, WIND, or EARTH. Student teams must then develop a feasible solution to solve the problem they identified.
Because 2025 was the year of WIND (circular economy), more than 1,000 elementary, middle, and high school students explored environmental problems related to electronic waste, food waste, fast fashion, and plastic pollution.
Team submissions were asked to include relevant stakeholders, credible research, and a detailed implementation plan. They also created a two-minute video that shared their inspiration and project plans. After months of hard work, nineteen teams of finalists joined Captain Planet Foundation at finale events to pitch their solutions to an esteemed panel of judges, with the top solutions from each metro area earning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place honors.
These six winning teams were invited to join our Green Heart STEM Challenge Idea Incubator. The Idea Incubator consists of four 90-minute workshops, over two weeks, where winning teams work with Team Planet and Accenture consultants to refine their solutions, allocate tasks, tighten timelines, and finalize budgets for their winning projects in order to earn a $1,000 Implementation Grant.
Team Planet supported each team by helping them ensure that their solution solidly tied their research (strong evidence to validate their identified problems) to the change they wished to make. Then we helped students select implementation strategies and tactics that best suited their local community. Accenture consultants joined at both locations to help teams build realistic budgets, create timelines, and refine their approach to pitching their solutions to community leaders and stakeholders. See below for the incredible results!
Meet our 2025 Idea Incubator Teams:
1st Place Elementary School Category (5th Grade): Atlanta, GA – “Green Clan”, Wadsworth Magnet School
The Green Clan’s solution specifically addresses the issue of littering in their community. They have chosen to narrow in on a beloved tree in their neighborhood park. They observed that there are no waste-disposal bins in the area and created a plan to establish a system to encourage proper waste disposal, mitigate littering, and increase recycling. They also aim to educate community members on the importance of taking this action.
Accenture consultants Mark Sandefur and Danielle Jordan supported the team during the Idea Incubator, and both left feeling inspired by their team’s solution.
“In working with my group, I couldn’t help but be thrilled with their sheer enthusiasm when it came to brainstorming ideas. In teaching them about Project Management best practices—explaining both critical path dependencies and how to prioritize—you could see lights come on for them. Their high natural interest level and strong willingness to participate was inspiring to see.” – Mark Sandefur
“I had an incredible time working with the students on their idea incubator. It reminded me so much of my kids and was nice to hear their diverse set of thoughts and plans to put their ideas into action. They asked good questions to me, their group leaders, and each other to make sure their plan was solid.” – Danielle Jordan
1st Place Middle School Category: Atlanta, GA – “BMS Green Victory”, Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School
The BMS Green Victory team identified a major issue in their community: large amounts of untouched and perfectly usable food was being thrown away in their school cafeteria. Their solution to reducing this food waste is to create an e-cookbook — a collection of recipes that would be made available online and specifically designed for students to take home commonly wasted foods to create new dishes. Their solution includes creating recipes that represent various cultures within their community, as well as creating a school club that works with cafeteria staff in order to create sample recipes from unused food items (especially fruit). Equitable accessibility to this cookbook was also emphasized in their presentation.
Their teacher, Ms. Dowdy, shared her admiration for the team’s effort and growth:
“It’s amazing, it really is. Because like all three of them said, it just started as two people coming in from Fernbank, talking to the whole entire class. And then, they created their groups, working on the projects. And I was very surprised too because I didn’t know how it was going to work out, but they really stepped up to the plate when they got on stage. And speaking with the judges, they were very clear and concise on what they wanted to do. And I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with.” – Ms. Dowdy, Educator
Student Kaylee added:
“It felt unreal because I wasn’t expecting to actually be this serious about this project. I felt like I was a businesswoman.” – Kaylee, BMS Green Victory
1st Place High School Category, Atlanta- “Compost Queens”, Tucker High School
The Compost Queens are striving to create a circular composting system within their own school. They observed the amount of food wasted in their cafeteria and created a detailed plan to turn this food waste into healthy soil that can replenish and revitalize their school’s fallow garden. They determined which stakeholders would be necessary within the school to turn this into a reality, as well as the need for a student-run Garden Club that would be responsible for its management. The group sees this as an educational opportunity for teachers at their school, and has created a plan to get students invested in the compost’s success.
Their educator, Ms. Chapman, shared her thoughts on the team’s engagement during the Idea Incubator Sessions:
“It was an absolute joy working with the Compost Queens and witnessing their vision come to life. Their organization, clear roles, and dedication ensured the project thrived through the summer and was ready for the new school year. Their success is a testament to teamwork, communication, and bringing every stakeholder along on the journey.” – Gina Rude, Accenture
Student Nnenna added:
“We are closer to our goal now. We had a good idea that was hard to implement, but now we have contacts and dos and don’ts.” – Nnenna, The Compost Queens
1st Place, Houston, TX – “Pollution Police”, Ross Sterling Middle School
To support students and families, the Pollution Police aim to create a program that teaches students how to upcycle used shoes. This group plans to get the support of their school staff, as well as being connected to local shoe restoration experts, in order to reduce the amount of shoes that are thrown away unnecessarily in their community. Their solution is two-fold: (1) establishing a creative space where students can learn to restore and design used shoes; (2) establishing a space to sell/exchange these shoes. This solution also emphasizes affordability for parents and families in obtaining new shoes.
Accenture consultants Ken Williams and Nicole Nguyen, who supported the team during the Idea Incubator, reflected on their experience working with the students.
“I only had two days to work with the students, but those two days were powerful. Their concept beautifully captured the spirit of sustainability — upcycling/refurbishing old shoes into something meaningful for other students in need. As we refined their project, I watched their confidence grow. We talked about design thinking, storytelling, and even basic project management — all through the lens of making a difference. Watching them connect the dots between compassion and strategy was inspiring. They began to think strategically, connect sustainability with compassion, and see themselves as real changemakers.” – Ken Williams, Accenture
“I had a wonderful experience volunteering with the students as we worked together to develop a shoe repair project to help kids in need at their school. They were very engaged, hands-on, and excited to bring their ideas to life. Ken and I supported them by helping create a list of supplies and steps needed to make their project successful. It was inspiring to see their enthusiasm and teamwork in finding creative ways to make a positive impact in their community.” – Nicole Nguyen, Accenture
Third Place, Houston, TX – “The Creek”, Clear Creek Intermediate School
The Creek team is using their passion for clothing design, crafting, and drawing in order to revitalize used clothing into new and unique products. This group has already begun—taking elements from a large antique ball gown and incorporating them into jeans, wreaths, skirts, dresses, sweaters, and even a piece of artwork. They aim to teach other students about upcycling clothing by creating an organization called Couture Chronicles, which will include workshops and projects. Inspired by the Met Gala, they are planning to present their completed projects at their very own fashion show in the spring of 2026! Members of the community are invited to attend.
Accenture consultant Riya Santra, who worked closely with the team, shared her admiration for their passion and creativity:
“It was a pleasure working with The Creek this past year! They brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the table which I think is the first step in bringing a passion project to life. I love their idea of a fashion show to not only showcase but also celebrate upcycling and the new creations it can produce. I think it’s a great way of getting other students engaged and teaching them new skills like project management and sewing in the process. I hope the fall fashion show is a success and ushers in a new age of creativity and sustainability!” – Riya Santra, Accenture
Meanwhile, The Creek team’s educator, Mr. Meade, saw an impressive change within his students during the Idea Incubator:
“One highlight that stood out was seeing our students confidently present their fashion exhibit idea and connect it to a real-world issue like fast fashion. Their excitement, teamwork, and ability to speak with purpose showed just how much they had grown during the Idea Incubator experience. It was a proud and powerful moment.” – Mr. Meade, Educator
Of the five participating teams, Team Planet is proud to announce that the Pollution Police, The Creek, and Tucker Compost (AKA Compost Queens) each earned Implementation Grants to support their WIND solutions. Stay tuned to see how their project implementation supported their schools and communities!
The 2026 Green Heart STEM Challenge is focused on EARTH (Food Waste, Reforestation, and Regenerative Agriculture). To get involved in the 2026 Green Heart STEM Challenge, register by December 19th, 2025!
The 2025 Green Heart STEM Challenge was made possible through the generous support of Accenture and Susan J. Klein.