Elementary, junior high, and high school students from across the Santa Clarita Valley will have an opportunity to win a prize by presenting their environmentally themed science projects to the community, during the fourth annual COC Environmental Science Fair being held Wednesday, April 10.

Presented by College of the Canyons and the Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium (SCEEC), this annual event traditionally features more than 35 student project entries based around categories including: transportation, ‘green’ building and design, plastics and recycling, daily toxins, composting and sustainable gardening, organic foods and much more.

Students will present their projects and offer explanations of their research and experimentations to agroup of judges, as well as fellow students and fair visitors.

Winners will be acknowledged on the day of the event and then have their projects showcased at the City of Santa Clarita’s Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, April 13, at Central Park.

As extra incentive, the SCEEC will also be awarding theme park and movie tickets or gift cards for winning projects in each of the three age categories (elementary, junior high, and high school).

“Environmental awareness has to start early. We can’t afford to wait until students come to college to begin talking about environmental issues,” said Jia-Yi Cheng-Levine, COC instructor and vice chair of the SCEEC advisory board. “By raising awareness early on, we have a better chance of affecting positive changes for a more balanced and environmentally sustainable future for all.”

The 2013 Environmental Science Fair will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center, Room 258, located on the college’s Valencia campus (University Center Drive entrance).

The event is being organized by the Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium (SCEEC) and sponsored by the college’s Associated Student Government (ASG) and the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Students interested in participating in the 2013 COC Environmental Science Fair must have their entry forms submitted to the event committee no later than 5 p.m. Friday, March 29.

For more information about the event or to request an entry form please email info@sceec.org.

About the Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium (SCEEC)

The Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium (SCEEC) is an initiative of College of the Canyons, which operates as a private-public partnership with a mission to promote environmental literacy in the Santa Clarita Valley.

It is dedicated to promoting sustainability awareness and practices both on campus and in the community by hosting events and activities that help teachers and learners in the Santa Clarita Valley become more involved with environmental issues.

“Promoting environmental literacy in the Santa Clarita Valley is part of our mission,” said BJ Atkins, chair of the SCEEC advisory board. “The Environmental Science Fair gives local students a chance to demonstrate the importance of individual action and learn firsthand that what we do as individuals has a collective impact on our planet.”

For more information about the Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium (SCEEC) please visit www.sceec.org.