Crosslake Community School YES Team
1st Year Team
Planned a school and community garden for the spring, seeking support from school administration. They also explored adding a pollinator habitat to support future garden projects.
Harbor City International YES Team
4th Year Team
Completed the second year of their snow leopard awareness and fundraising initiative, including a sticker design contest to support the Irbis Mongolia Center. They also launched new projects, such as installing wildlife trail cameras at the Lake Superior Zoo, participating in a CERTs meeting, and organizing a Sustainability Summit for like-minded peers, demonstrating their continued commitment to environmental action.
MACCRAY YES Team
4th Year Team
Continued working toward completing their outdoor classroom project, aiming to expand outdoor learning opportunities for students. They also participated in an environmental education outreach event this spring called “Healthy Earth, Healthy Kids.”
Mankato West YES Team
14th Year Team
Organized multiple campus clean-ups throughout the season in collaboration with other clubs and student organizations to broaden their impact and promote the goals of the YES Program. This longstanding tradition exemplified how YES Teams can actively engage their peers in environmental stewardship.
New London-Spicer High School YES Team
6th Year Team
Completed several new projects, including buckthorn removal and a school forest cleanup. They also carried out a door draft stopper initiative and organized a holiday light recycling project.
New London-Spicer Middle School YES Team
18th Year Team
Completed several projects, including a new holiday light recycling initiative. They also advanced the seeds in nature area component of a multi-year project, engaging 120 fifth-grade students in collecting and spreading seeds. Additionally, during YES Week, the team organized their annual toy drive, resulting in the donation of 200 gently used toys to Prairie Meadows Preschool.
Northern Lights – Warba YES Team
1st Year Team
Participated in a program-wide holiday light recycling initiative, engaging both peers and the broader community in their collection efforts.
Royalton YES Team – State Champion
13th Year Team
Last season, the team completed a large-scale prairie restoration project. While the site required ongoing maintenance, its future needs were continually assessed throughout the season. Additional efforts included team-building activities, a new holiday light recycling initiative, and an educational outreach event that introduced kindergarten students to the school’s prairie. The team also continued work on their oil recycling station, which processes an average of 30 gallons of oil per week—helping to protect hundreds of native species, prevent contamination of up to 30 million gallons of water, and keep harmful toxins and heavy metals out of the environment.
Watertown-Mayer Middle School YES Team
13th Year Team
Concentrated on recycling projects this year including gathering recyclables within their school, collecting and recycling broken and worn out holiday lights, visiting the local recycling center and implementing a school pen, marker and crayon recycling program.
Westbrook-Walnut Grover YES Team – Runner-Up State Champion
13th Year Team
Focused on the importance of pollinators and their critical role in sustaining wildlife habitats and food systems. They began gathering resources to develop educational sessions for elementary students in their district and planned a “seed bomb” project to complement the lessons with hands-on environmental engagement. This presentation contributed to the creation of approximately 22.5 square feet of pollinator habitat. Additional projects included an experiment to reduce paper usage in school, a plastic bag collection initiative for a bench project, and a creation of “The Whale Mural” by saving up to 7,000 bottle caps, placing around 1,000 on the mural board, and collecting up to 100 pop tabs. Ongoing recycling efforts further supported their commitment to sustainability.