Make Sustainable Change in San Diego!
The 2025 Energizing San Diego Challenge is an exciting opportunity for middle and high school students in San Diego to inspire sustainable change while learning about energy use and environmental leadership. Challenge activities help participants develop leadership skills and can be completed as a class, in small groups/clubs, or even individually!
See below for an overview of the challenge and how YOU can get involved!
See below for an overview of the challenge and how YOU can get involved!
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Register
Register for the 2025 Energizing San Diego Challenge by clicking the button below! You will receive a link to the Energy Challenge Portal where you can access all challenge materials. Registration recommended by October 7. |
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Participate in the Challenge and Run a Campaign
Become a sustainability leader in your community! By exploring concepts of energy and power, students audit their campus using industry-standards tools, and then utilize their knowledge to design and launch a school-wide campaign to conserve energy. Students develop technical energy career skills, as well as transferable project management, team work, public speaking, graphic design, communication, and leadership skills. All challenge materials are available in English and Spanish |
Part 1: Energy & Power
Students will learn where energy comes from and how and why it should be conserved. Students will then practice calculations with power and energy in preparation for the energy audit. |
Part 2: School Energy Audit
Students will perform a hands-on energy audit on their school campus using a provided watt meter and handout. |
Part 3: Energy Campaign
Students will be guided through how to plan and lead an energy conservation campaign on their school campus. |
Congratulations to Our Winners!
Win Prize Money to Move Your Sustainability Vision Forward!
Campaigns submitted by November 7 were eligible to win money for their school, classroom, or club to continue supporting the sustainability efforts started during the challenge. See below for additional prize eligibility requirements.
Campaigns submitted by November 7 were eligible to win money for their school, classroom, or club to continue supporting the sustainability efforts started during the challenge. See below for additional prize eligibility requirements.
Grand Prize: $1,000
Top Sustainability Campaign: San Ysidro High School
This year’s top campaign went to San Ysidro High School’s Computer Science Honor Society, led by teacher Maricruz Rosete! The team, comprised of students Saraleyn Sandoval, Angel Fernandez, Aiana Liles, Diana Gonzalez, Denise Romero, Sergio Zamora, and Gael Solis researched their local community and the environmental challenges impacting the coastal community. The team also conducted an energy audit, using watt meters to measure the main uses of energy in their classrooms. Using this information, the students created a multi-media campaign, using social media, posters, a website, and a school-wide PSA to educate their community about the impacts of energy use, how to conserve energy, and the positive benefits of energy conservation. As a result of completing their campaign, the students reported: “Our peers within our classes have become more aware of their energy usage, and they now have in mind to conserve their energy whenever they can. Especially our teachers who are now actively looking for ways to conserve energy in their classrooms. Overall, the campaign’s real impact is in our community’s internal change: to pause and consider the environmental footprint of their actions.”
Congratulations to the San Ysidro CSHS for their creativity, leadership, and impact of their campaign!
This year’s top campaign went to San Ysidro High School’s Computer Science Honor Society, led by teacher Maricruz Rosete! The team, comprised of students Saraleyn Sandoval, Angel Fernandez, Aiana Liles, Diana Gonzalez, Denise Romero, Sergio Zamora, and Gael Solis researched their local community and the environmental challenges impacting the coastal community. The team also conducted an energy audit, using watt meters to measure the main uses of energy in their classrooms. Using this information, the students created a multi-media campaign, using social media, posters, a website, and a school-wide PSA to educate their community about the impacts of energy use, how to conserve energy, and the positive benefits of energy conservation. As a result of completing their campaign, the students reported: “Our peers within our classes have become more aware of their energy usage, and they now have in mind to conserve their energy whenever they can. Especially our teachers who are now actively looking for ways to conserve energy in their classrooms. Overall, the campaign’s real impact is in our community’s internal change: to pause and consider the environmental footprint of their actions.”
Congratulations to the San Ysidro CSHS for their creativity, leadership, and impact of their campaign!
Prize Eligibility
The Energy Challenge was open to all middle school and high school students, teachers, and administrators from September 8 to November 7. To be eligible for the prizes, your school must be within San Diego County.
The Energy Challenge was open to all middle school and high school students, teachers, and administrators from September 8 to November 7. To be eligible for the prizes, your school must be within San Diego County.
Missed the Fall 2025 Energizing San Diego Challenge?Good news! You can still access the Challenge materials and complete the challenge to receive an Energy Specialist Certificate. Additionally, stay tuned for more info on our Spring Challenge!
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact us:
Email: [email protected]
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact us:
Email: [email protected]
Partners
This program is funded by San Diego Community Power with additional support from San Diego Foundation and Calpine Community Power. This program is administered by the San Diego Foundation.
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Check Out Submissions from SEI Sustainability Challenges!
Students created campaigns to educate their communities on the importance of green transportation, to advocate for better school waste management systems, and even donated homemade air quality filters to elementary classrooms!
Students created campaigns to educate their communities on the importance of green transportation, to advocate for better school waste management systems, and even donated homemade air quality filters to elementary classrooms!
High Tech High’s student presentation on pollution prevention.
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High Tech High’s student presentation on the environmental implications of fast fashion.
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High Tech High’s student presentation on ocean acidification.
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Design Tech High’s Instagram post introducing their school community garden project to their peers.
Spearheaded by their co-leaders, Timothy Lee and Trinity Ly, Summit Shasta‘s Environment Club engaged in a four-day project to quantify their school’s waste sorting practices and educate school stakeholders on the importance of recycling and composting.
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Monrovia High School Environmental Club's Instagram post on climate change.
A comic strip developed by a group of students at Abraham Lincoln High that aimed to inform readers about air pollution and how we can combat it.
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East Bay Innovation Academy's infographic on water conservation.
Sam Huang, a Rosemead High School student, successfully spread awareness about how human activities impact the environment and urged their community to take action!
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