The 2018 award year marks the fourth year of ULIEA. This year's grand prize winner and recipient of $100,000 is Oakland-based Techbridge Girls, who opens the world of STEM education to girls from low-income communities with hands-on environmental projects. The second place winners, who will receive $50,000, include Ocean Discovery Institute from San Diego, CA. and Sweet Water Foundation from Chicago, IL. Ocean Discovery Institute empowers students from urban communities to become conservation stewards through ocean conservation education. Sweet Water Foundation instills the understanding of urban ecology in their students through urban farming, neighborhood beautification, and more. The third place winners, who will receive $25,000, are the 'Alala Reintroduction Community Inquiry Program of San Diego Zoo Global, and Groundswell Michigan of Grand Rapids, MI. The 'Alala Reintroduction Community Inquiry Program provides Hawaii-based students with the knowledge and tools to reintroduce the 'Alala (Hawaiian Crow) in the wild, as it is currently extinct. Groundswell Michigan, powered by Grand Valley State University College of Education in Michigan, supports educators to teach their students about real-world environmental problems with hands-on activities. 

We are thrilled to welcome these 5 organizations to the ULIEA family and power generations of ESTEM to come. Learn more about this year's winners here: https://naaee.org/news/newsroom/ul-and-north-american-association