ASHS team is PH’s sole Earth Prize finalist

On February 14, 2023, the Ateneo de Manila Senior High School team composed of then-grade 11 students Dan Reyes (11-San Vitores), Ady Rivera (11-Mayer), Joaquin De Los Santos (11-Goupil), Gab Rosanes (11-Angelis) and Hazel Medina (11-Perez) was named one of the ten finalists of The Earth Prize 2023. The Earth Prize is a global environmental sustainability competition for students between the ages of 13 and 19, one which rewards the team whose project has the most potential to address environmental issues with a cash prize of $100,000 (which is split between the team members and their school).

The ASHS students’ submission was “Koolwayan,” a proposal for a sustainable roofing material made of treated indigenous fibers. “Koolwayan” started as the science research project of the group’s original members when they were in Ateneo de Manila Junior High School (AJHS) Grade 9, and continued into Grade 10. Back then, they were mentored by AJHS Science faculty Jam Dela Cruz and Jason Arias.

Earth Prize finalists are also called “Earth Prize Scholars,” and they are the ones judged to have submitted the "top fresh ideas of this year's edition of the competition” (theearthprize Instagram, 2023). Supervised by Mel Cobar (coordinator of the ASHS Research Subject Area and STEM teacher), our students were the only finalists/scholars from the Philippines. They were among 37 teams to represent 31 schools from 22 countries and territories in the competition.

The current sections of our Earth Prize Scholars are as follows: Dan Reyes, 12-Pro; Ady Rivera, 12-Oldcorne; Joaquin De Los Santos, 12-Holland; Gab Rosanes, 12-Anchieta; and Hazel Medina, 12-Navarro.

The Earth Prize is an initiative created by The Earth Foundation, a Geneva-based nonprofit organization working to inspire, educate, mentor, and empower young students and entrepreneurs to accelerate change towards environmental sustainability.