Bethesda Green’s Environmental Leaders Program is an experiential school-year long sustainability program for high school seniors in Montgomery County, MD. Meet our 2021-2022 Environmental Leaders! Each participant designs and implements a conservation project. You can view the Environmental Leaders present their projects here.
Alessandra Faccone
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Class of 2022
Alessandra will attend Princeton University
“I am so excited to be a part of Bethesda Green and its goal to create a sustainable future in our local community. Working with others that share my passion for the environment will give me the opportunity to make positive changes on a broader scale. I am eager to learn from my advisors and to experience what it means to be an environmental leader. I am also excited for how this program will prepare me for when I carry out similar sustainability projects in the future.”
Spring Project: A bat conservation project that will consist of designing and building bat houses to sustain the threatened bat population in Bethesda, and researching the Eastern Red bat through interviews with species conservation experts. Learn more about the bat conservation project here.
Blog Post: 10 Ways to Cut Down on Your Plastic Waste
Meg Graham
Walt Whitman High School Class of 2022
Meg will attend Eckerd College
“I’m excited to be a part of the Environmental Leaders Program this year. Bethesda Green’s community-based approach is something I love because I think involving the community is the first step in creating a greener earth. I’ve been interested in science since a young age, specifically marine ecology, so I’m thrilled to work with like-minded people to make a difference.”
Spring Project: Creating a booklet designed to show readers the importance of planting native species in their garden. The booklet will highlight different native species and places in the community where habitat fragmentation has occurred and why it is an issue. The booklet will also include information on landscape design to show readers how their home garden can reduce the effects of habitat degradation. View the booklet here.
Blog Post: Don’t Strip the Bay of Its Stripes
Rakesh Krishnan
Walt Whitman High School, Class of 2022
Raki will attend the University of Michigan
“I have had a passion for creating a sustainable future ever since a young age. Recently, I have started to take action on this passion. Working with other people to make a positive difference in the community is something that I believe can go a long way. I am very excited to be part of the Environmental Leaders Program because I will learn a lot more about sustainability and implementation of community projects. It will take everyone doing their part, but I believe that we can turn around the climate crisis and create a prosperous future for all.”
Spring Project: Creating short, informative, and entertaining videos designed to educate viewers about how environmental topics relating to energy generation, energy efficiency, and energy consumption directly relate to their lives. Check out the Energy Exploration Series here.
Blog Post: Are We Taking Bald Eagles for Granted?
Andrew Lebowitz
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Class of 2022
Andrew will attend the University of Florida, Gainsville
“I believe that human society has done tremendous harm to the environment, threatening the well-being of all species on Earth. I joined Bethesda Green because I want to lend a hand in the fight against environmental challenges in my area. I plan on studying environmental science and I hope for a career in which I get to travel around the world in the pursuit of nature! Aside from my passion for the environment, I am an avid Washington football team fan. I also love to workout and play basketball!”
Spring project: Creating a garden with the purpose of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon. The garden will demonstrate how sequestration works, display key ideas and techniques, and will encourage others to take similar action. With greater awareness, carbon sequestration can be done on a wider scale. Learn more about the carbon garden here.
Blog Post: Salt May be Safe for Cars, but is it Safe for the Environment?
Alicja Mazurkiewicz
Holton-Arms School, Class of 2024
“I am excited to join the Bethesda Green Environmental leaders program this year. I can’t wait to work with other passionate people and gain first-hand experience in addressing environmental challenges at the local level. My passion lies in identifying and implementing approaches to preserve the health of the environment against the threats of rising pollution and climate change. As a young person, I want to do my part in protecting the environment, so I’m looking forward to engaging in projects with Bethesda Green that will have a true impact on my community!”
Spring Project: Researching, writing, and recording a series of six podcast episodes on the circular economy that includes interviews with experts. The aim is to generally increase awareness about the emerging circular economy concept to inspire teenagers to recognize their impact and to become a part of the solution. Check out the Circular Economy podcast here.
Blog Posts: Urban Stormwater: A Threat to the Bethesda Area Watershed and The Death of a Solar Panel
Parker Profet
Walt Whitman High School Class of 2022
Parker will attend North Carolina State University
“I’m planning to study Industrial Engineering in college. I am excited to be a part of the Environmental Leaders Program, and learning how to help protect the environment while working in future industry. Specifically, I am intrigued by advances in electric vehicles and their role in reducing carbon emissions. Through this program, I hope to learn more about local environmental issues and how they are handled. It is important to me to protect our community, so I look forward to sharing what I learned.”
Spring Project: Creating an educational model of an offshore wind farm based on the current Virginia Beach location. The educational portion will be based on research and interviews with professionals and provide information about the growing presence of wind energy, and what it means for our future. Read the project report here.| Photos of the Model.
Blog Post: Can Electric Vehicles Charge Our Future?
Alex Spiegel
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Class of 2022
Alex will attend Dickinson College
“I have always had a strong passion for the environment, which is why I joined the Environmental Leaders Program at Bethesda Green! I am looking forward to learning more about the environment, as well as making local change with Bethesda Green. I’m extremely happy to be able to help create a better future for the environment. My passions other than the environment include soccer, music, and cooking.”
Spring Project: Creating a garden with the purpose of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon. The garden will demonstrate how sequestration works, display key ideas and techniques, and will encourage others to take similar action. With greater awareness, carbon sequestration can be done on a wider scale. Learn more about the carbon garden here.
Blog Posts: Could this Bee the Last Hoorah? and Tips to Gardening More Carbon Consciously