Enrollment now open for next round of Disney's Planet Challenge competition

Enrollment now open for next round of competition

A sixth-grade class from Iowa recently returned from Disneyland® as winners of the first national Disney's Planet Challenge environmental competition, and enrollment is now open for the program's 2010-11 competition.

Thousands of classrooms from districts in all 50 states participated in Disney's Planet Challenge. Mrs. Julie Schnedler's sixth-grade class at Mediapolis Community School in rural Iowa was selected as the winner by a judging committee made up of scientists, environmental experts and educators including representatives from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and WestEd K-12 Alliance.
More about the winning classroom.

Mrs. Schnedler's class focused on saving the Northern Bobwhite Quail population, which is declining due to harsh weather and decreased prairie land. To restore the quails' natural habitat, students collected information through computer research and field work. With the help of community members, the class restored acres of existing conservation space in Luckenbill Woods by conducting a controlled burn to prepare the land and replanting native vegetation that will benefit local quails.

For information about Disney's Planet Challenge, or to enroll for the 2010-11 competition, visit www.disney.com/planetchallenge.