It was like 41 days of science class rolled into one lively interactive afternoon. Nearly 1,000 students from 41 metro Denver school classrooms competed for top honors at the 11 th annual Youth Summit on Wednesday, April 30 at the Denver Zoo. FrontRange Earth Force hosted the event, in conjunction with the zoo's Community Learning Program. Morey Middle School took first place with "Food Fighters: Quality Cafeteria Food." Slavens Elementary School came in second place with "Saving Denver's Four-Legged Friends," which focused on homeless animals and Ellis Elementary won third place with "Lunchroom Waste," a project about composting.

In a spirited opening ceremony, FrontRange Earth Force's Youth Action Board sprung five "wants" on Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Their wish list included free recycling at all Denver Public Schools, more murals and art by young people in the city, more meaningful work opportunities for youth, a Youth Action Board at the city level, and a place for "real kids to talk about real issues."

For the first issue - recycling at Denver Public Schools - the mayor's response was quick: "Consider it done." Following, he gave feedback about next steps and supporting the requests.

"I will personally take it upon myself to go back to city hall and say, 'How can we get the kids to help give us the answer or get their opinion?' I am not saying we are going to do everything you ask, but we'll listen to it. I guarantee we'll have a better program because of it," said Mayor Hickenlooper.

"There's tremendous energy around this event," said Lisa Bardwell, executive director for Front Range Earth Force. "It starts with students choosing a topic that genuinely concerns them and transferring that energy into exhibits that will make lasting impressions on many people. Our students also visit every booth, so the learning ripples out to all those involved." This was the first year the public participated in the Youth Summit, an event sponsored by Suncor Energy USA and GreenPrint Denver's Tree by Tree: the mile high million.

Performance was also part of the day. Students shouted signature cheers during roll call and creatively voiced their environmental concerns through original songs, rap, and skits during "Speak Out".

Ideas for the exhibits came from Earth Force's Community Action and Problem Solving curriculum being taught in the classroom. CAPS begins with students targeting a local environmental problem. Once an issue is identified, students analyze public and private policy around the topic. The curriculum then moves from awareness to action as students create a plan to address the problem. Examples of CAPS include students conducting an energy audit of a school and creating school policies to reduce energy use, bringing curb-side recycling to a community, reducing liter by working with the city to install more trash cans, and launching a community education campaign about pollution. Together, teachers and students assess the progress of the work as it unfolds.

"When kids learn that they are in charge and have a say, the leadership pours out of them," said an Earth Force teacher.