Carmen René Memorial wins inaugural Green Champions Challenge

Carmen René Memorial Primary School won the inaugural Green Champions Challenge, a four-week campaign that involved more than 2,400 students from five primary schools who collected electronic waste and aluminium cans for recycling.

The winners were announced during a prize-giving ceremony on Tuesday.

Carmen René Memorial received the Massy Stores Champions Award in recognition of its efforts. The prize included EC$1,500 in Massy Stores vouchers, refreshments for the whole school and the title of 2026 Green Champions Winner.

Canon Laurie Anglican Primary School was the first runner-up and received the LUCELEC Spark Award, worth EC$1,000, to help meet a school need.

St Aloysius RC Boys School, Ave Maria Girls’ School, and Gordon and Walcott Methodist Memorial School each received the SLASPA Green Seed Award of EC$333 to fund a small environmental project on their school grounds, such as a garden, recycling corner, or tree-planting initiative.

Greening the Caribbean coordinated the Green Champions Challenge with the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority (SLSWMA), with support from the Department of Education and Digital Transformation. This initiative is part of the Integrated E-Waste Management Project, which works to reduce electronic waste at the Deglos Landfill and promote responsible waste disposal across the island.

Over the course of the campaign, which began on May 26, students collected a total of 2,460 electronic waste items and aluminium cans. The materials were delivered to Greening the Caribbean’s recycling facility in Odsan, where they are being sorted and prepared for export to certified recycling partners.

According to organisers, the campaign extended beyond the participating schools and reached more than a dozen communities through the students and their families.

Chief Operations Officer of Greening the Caribbean, Wayne Neale, described the initiative as an example of what can be achieved when public, private, and community partners work together.

“No single organisation, no single agency, no single sector solves the waste challenge in Saint Lucia. Greening the Caribbean is pleased to work alongside the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority, the Ministry of Education, IDB Lab, and our private sector sponsors on this school-led campaign. When the public, private, and community sectors move in the same direction, this is what is possible,” Neale said.

One of the lasting outcomes of the challenge is that each participating school will keep its branded Green Champions collection bin, which will continue to serve as a recycling drop-off point for students and community members.

Greening the Caribbean has indicated that the Green Champions Challenge is expected to become an annual event, with planning for the 2027 edition already expected to begin later this year. Communications and Stakeholder Lead at Greening the Caribbean, Sariah Best-Joseph, said the campaign demonstrated the role young people can play in tackling environmental challenges.

“Every school in this Challenge has won something far greater than a prize. They have shown Saint Lucia that our children, supported by a strong coalition of partners and sponsors, can lead a national response to one of the region’s fastest-growing environmental challenges. Ultimately, this was never just a competition; it is a school-community environmental coalition which now leads the way,” she said.

The article Carmen René Memorial wins inaugural Green Champions Challenge is from St. Lucia Times.