Congratulations go to Redmond High School and Solar 4R Schools teacher champion Mike Town for winning the inaugural $25,000 Green Prize in Environmental Education from the NEA Foundation on Monday.

According to this article in the April 19 Seattle Times, Town received the award in part for his program called the “Cool School Challenge.”

(The program) shows kids how to do energy audits of their school buildings and, using math and science, reduce the carbon footprint by powering down computers at night, turning out lights that aren’t being used, recycling, composting and a range of other strategies. About 150 participating schools across the country have saved and estimated 1.5 million poinds of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions.

Town’s school, Redmond High, estimates that it saved more than $30,000 a year in electricity and waste costs, and reduced carbon-dioxide emissions by more than 200,000 pounds.

According to the article, Town plans to use some of the prize money to add to the solar array on their home in Duvall, Wash.