During the 2018-19 school year, teams of middle schoolers tackled the problem of plastic pollution in our waterways with the National Geographic GeoChallenge. First-place teams from sixteen regional competitions traveled to the 2019 Geo Championships in Washington, D.C. in May 2019. This blog series introduces you to each of those teams in their own words.* Registration for next year’s #NatGeoChallenge opens in August at NatGeoEd.org/GeoChallenge.

Meet The Plastic Peeps!

The Plastic Peeps implemented an awareness campaign and educational program that resulted in a recycling bin being placed in every classroom of their school. They also started a recycling club. The team plans to expand this campaign to their community by working with local environmental groups.

From: Infant of Prague Catholic School, North Carolina

Team Motto: Saving the world, one peep at a time.

A funny thing about your team: Our diverse yet connecting personalities and senses of humor.

A funny thing about your coach: Her strange obsession with sticky notes.

The biggest obstacle you had to overcome as a team: Procrastination and time management.

Favorite moment at regional competition: The opportunity to see the other teams’ projects, and gain different perspectives on how to solve the same problem.

A part of the world I’d like to explore is…

Ella: I’d like to travel around the Mediterranean to see all the art an history.

Aaliya: Japan because of its beauty, people, sites, food, and culture.

James: Italy to study the architecture.

Jacob: China because it’s a major source of plastic pollution. I would like to help them solve it.

Registration for the 2019-2020 National Geographic GeoChallenge opens in August.

*Team responses have been lightly edited for grammar.