Youth Projects & Resilience Expo

Kids of All Ages are Helping Restore the Elizabeth River

The Youth Resilience Expo is our annual showcase for student research projects. Kids of all ages and abilities work by themselves or in groups to address some of the river’s biggest challenges, like flooding, sea level rise, habitat restoration and water quality.

All kinds of environmental projects. For every kind of kid.

  • Rainwater Gardens
  • Native Trees & Plants
  • Pollinator Gardens
  • Oyster Gardens
  • Flood Control & Drainage
  • Composting
  • Renewable Energy
  • Habitat Restoration
  • Water Quality Testing
  • Recycling & Waste Reduction
  • Invasive Plant Removal
  • Erosion Control

Our Impact Since 2019

64
Resilient River star schools
87
PROJECTS COMPLETED
5,500
Students & Counting

Youth Resilience Expo 2023

This year’s Youth Resilience Expo tackled some big environmental challenges and made tangible reductions in flooding, river pollution and carbon emissions. Over 1300 students participated in environmental action projects in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.

Congratulations to every student, educator and parent for improving the health and resilience of the Elizabeth River watershed and for inspiring all of us to do our part. 

Each school will receive beautiful recycled glass awards for their trophy case displays!

2023 Expo Projects

We're so proud of our 2023 Youth Resilience Expo Participants! Watch their video submissions to learn more about how they're tackling local environmental challenges.

2023 Resilient River Star School Accomplishments

1,000 Wetland Grasses Planted
430 lbs of litter removed
2,000+ lbs of plastic bags & recyclable materials
200+ native plants and trees planted
1,500 milkweed seedlings started to support Monarch butterflies
6,000+ oysters grown
4 rain barrels installed

Evelyn Page

Guest Speaker
granby high school student

Above and Beyond Winner

The Hague School

For the past 3 years, The Hague School has been a pioneer for the Elizabeth River watershed. This year, they showcased their commitment to sustainability, community support and carbon footprint reduction with raised garden beds and composting systems. 

They saved 386 net lbs of CO2 in their first month of harvesting & composting — that’s equivalent to the CO2 released by driving 440 miles in an average car!

ALL 2023 Resilient
River Star Schools

  • Blair Middle School
  • Camp E.W. Young
  • E.W. Chittum Elementary School/Girl Scout Troop 772
  • Christopher Academy
  • Cradock Elementary School
  • Evelyn Page, Granby High School
  • Kent Family
  • Kingston Elementary School
  • Lindenwood Elementary School
  • Maury High School Garden Club
  • Maury High School Surfrider Club
  • I.C. Norcom High School
  • Park Place School
  • Portsmouth Public Schools Oyster Project
  • Sherwood Forest Elementary School
  • Tarrallton Elementary School
  • The Hague School
  • Westhaven Elementary School

Get Ready for Youth Resilience Expo 2024!

Expo students tackle some of the river’s most important challenges to understand it better and help it heal. Get your student or group started on a Youth Resilience Challenge today! Grant funding may be available for project supplies.

Project submissions are due by Friday, May 17th. All projects will be recognized as Resilient River Star Schools and shared on our website!

Name(Required)
Would you like to participate in the Youth Resilience Expo?(Required)
What topic will your project focus on?(Required)

Youth Resilience Expo and Resilient River Star School Funding made possible by: 

Hampton Roads Community Foundation, Funds from sale of Chesapeake Bay License Plates, Bank of America, Beazley Foundation, Cox Foundation, Department of Conservation and Recreation, Dollar Tree Foundation, Dominion Energy and State Farm.

Youth Water Monitoring Results

Entry Data

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MM slash DD slash YYYY
Time(Required)
:

Sample Data

Bacteria

Observations

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