Westminster STEM student named national winner of Battelle Climate Challenge

With rising sea levels projected to erode two-thirds of California’s coast in the next 100 years, Westminster High School senior Ashley Nguyen decided to develop a restoration method made from seeds, sea mud, clay and silt to help strengthen eelgrass and prevent ground erosion.

The “Seed Bomb” — as Ashley named her project — won first place in the nationwide Battelle Climate Challenge on March 28. Hosted in partnership with Future Engineers, this contest called on students to research the effects of climate-related hazards in their communities and then develop an actionable strategy to lessen their impacts on the environment.

In addition to devising a solution, participants were tasked with creating a poster visually detailing each step of how they plan to develop their climate action. The project entries were also required to include a plan for how their communities can prevent or recover from that climate-related event.

After submitting her project in January, Ashley made it through the semifinalist and finalist rounds before receiving a call from competition organizers that she had placed first in the ninth- through 12th-grade division.

“Advancing to the national round gave me the opportunity to shed light onto overlooked environmental issues in Southern California as well as allowed me to proudly represent my Southeast Asian community in the environmental field,” Ashley said. “I felt a tender warmth inside me that hope still remains strong for our future generations and future, and with no doubt, we can combat climate change.” 

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