About Project Polar Bear
Project Polar Bear is a way for small groups of young people to make a big difference! Polar Bears International's Project Polar Bear challenges teens to develop community projects that will reduce the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere.

Since this is a community improving experience, Polar Bears International has teamed up with communities in North America with zoos that have polar bears on site. There is also an "at large" category that encompasses teams of teens who live outside of those zoo-based regions but who care about polar bears and want to be a part of this challenge! Frontiers North's Tundra Buggy Adventure was the 2008 platinum sponsor.

What do we do to compete in Project Polar Bear?
Working in teams of two or three teenagers (ages 14 to 18), along with an adult advisor, Project Polar Bear Participants can create changes that are good for the climate and good for polar bears!

Prizes

Semi-finalists: Each participating Arctic Ambassador Center will determine one team as the runner-up and one team as the overall regional winner from their area (defined as a 50 mile radius surrounding the zoo). Prizes at the Regional level will be determined by the sponsoring Arctic Ambassador Centers. These overall regional winners and "at-large" winner will be the semi-finalists. The number of At-Large semi-finalists will be at the discretion of the PBI judges.

The PBI and partners judges will review all the semi-finalists and a finalist will be chosen in each Category from that pool. Those semi-finalists who do not advance to the finalist level will receive a prize package from PBI including products and a one-year membership in the organization.

Finalists: The members of the 4 teams chosen as finalists and their adult leader will be awarded with round trip airfare from the major airport nearest their home to San Diego, CA and three nights accommodations and most meals, while in San Diego to attend the Awards Ceremony during a 3-day weekend period in April 2010 (actual dates will be determined and posted before the end of the registration period, July 31, 2009). Each team of finalists will be recognized at an Awards Ceremony at the San Diego Zoo. The Grand Prize winner will be announced at that ceremony.

Grand Prize: A trip for the team and adult advisor to see bears in the wild near the Western Hudson Bay. The Grand Prize team will participate in a VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo including a behind the scenes stop at Polar Bear Plunge; admission to Sea World San Diego and other special animal encounters at each park. The Grand Prize team will also be filmed in order to be featured in a PBI video short. The teen team members will also be given a monetary award of $500 (USD) each.

Second Prize: The Second Prize team will enjoy admission to and a Wild Arctic Interaction at Sea World San Diego, as well as a VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes visit at Polar Bear Plunge.

The Other Finalists: The other two teams of finalists will enjoy a VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo, including a behind the scenes stop at Polar Bear Plunge. They will also receive admission to Sea World San Diego and other special experiences while at each park. Each team will be awarded a prize package of PBI merchandise.

All prizes are awarded without warranty of any kind, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose).

Steps

1. Get a team together of 2 or 3 teenagers (ages 14 to 18)

2. Find an adult advisor who will be able to guide you but not do your project

3. Set a meeting schedule for your group

4. Decide what your project is going to be (see the categories below for ideas and inspiration)

5. Register your team and outline your project. Sign up between June 1 and July 31, 2009.

6. Measure your Impact - Figure out a way up front to measure the impact of your project. Will it be by counting the number of trees planted and calculating the amount of CO2 they absorb? Will it be by keeping track of the amount of CO2 saved on "Ride your Bike to School Days" that you organize? You decide what makes sense for your project

7. Meet with your group regularly to keep your project moving along

8. Update your Project Polar Bear Web page. Take before, during and after data and pictures; make a video; record audio interviews with people, any way you can to capture the essence of what you are doing. Keep track of your progress and record some real numbers (remember Step 6?)

9. Complete the Project Polar Bear Success Report on the PolarBearsInternational.org website and submit it by the deadline of December 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

BONUS!: Keep up the good work! Hopefully your project changed some habits and changed some minds about how we can all reduce our carbon footprint. And the polar bears thank you!

What are the categories for our projects?
Project Polar Bear projects can be focused on one of the following categories:

1. POWER DOWN
   Medium to large-scale reduction in consumption of fossil fuels

   Here medium to large scale means more than just the Project Polar Bear team engaging in this effort. Medium scale could be the size of your school, for example. Large scale could be your whole town! Ideas include installing a solar or wind power generator, changing out all of the incandescent bulbs in town for LED and compact fluorescent bulbs, conducting energy audits for small businesses and helping them save energy and money. That's not all. The possibilities are as great as your imagination. Just be sure to figure out a way up front to actually measure the reduction in energy consumption.
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2. MAKE IT BETTER or DO IT BETTER
   Bring about an innovative change to an existing policy, process, or product that results in reduction of CO2 emissions, or reduced use of resources.

   This category is wide open ... facilitating a policy for a community-wide "ride your bike to work or school day;" a school-district wide process that brings about trash free cafeterias because all of the products are recycled or composted. Lots of communities have curbside recycling for residences. Find out where recycling is not happening in your community, figure out what's not working, and make it happen! This is also the category for you inventor-types to build the better CO2 trap. Tinker with something that emits CO2 and reduce or capture the emissions. Make sure you calculate a way to measure the changes you bring about.
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3. BUY RECYCLED
   This category is ideal for the shoppers among you! In this category, we want you to find ways to increase the use and purchase of recycled materials by manufacturers and consumers, so we can close the loop. Re-using the plastic, paper, glass and even clothing items that are already made decreases our demand for oil, wood, and other resources, which in turn decreases human impacts on polar bear habitat. In the U.S., only about 23% of plastic water bottles are recycled and actually make it to the point that they become raw materials for new products. We know that people know how to recycle, and many people are recycling, but in order for your efforts to be worthwhile, we have to build the market for stuff made from recycled materials.

   Here are some more suggestions: Create a project that supports products that use recycled materials. Maybe you could figure out which manufacturers are using recycled materials in their products and create a website for all of your friends and family to use as a resource. Do whatever it is teenagers do to make it cool to buy recycled stuff. You could convince local stores to stock merchandise made from recycled materials. Get your crafty friends together and start a group that makes usable, cool stuff from old stuff. Sell it all on e-bay! We can't wait to see what you come up with.
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4. INCREASE THE GREEN TO SUCK UP THE CO2
   The increase in CO2 in the atmosphere has already lead to noticeable and dangerous changes in polar bear habitat. It's warmer in the Arctic. The sea ice is decreasing and polar bears that can't get out on the ice can't get food. By increasing our natural carbon grabbers, those nice green things called plants, communities around the world can help decrease CO2 levels. Possible projects in this category include: Tree planting campaigns, community gardens, patio plant sales, contests to see how long teens can keep a pet plant alive, teach little kids to grow their own food and help them fall in love with gardens. This category is for those groups with a green thumb. If you choose a tree-planting project, please check with your state agriculture department or local university biology department so that you choose trees and plants that are native to, or appropriate for, your local habitat.
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All of the examples listed in the categories are truly just suggestions. We encourage and welcome projects of your own invention that apply to any of the categories.

Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Rules, Terms and Conditions
2008 Project Polar Bear Winners