Members of Maria Regina High School’s Environmental Issues Clug and their science instructor, Mrs. Elizabeth Caban, gather by the award-winning sunflowers the students cultivated.
Starting with Planting Seeds, Students Cultivated and Tracked Growth, Culminating with Breathtaking Seven-Foot-High Sunflowers in School’s Garden
Members of Maria Regina High School’s Environmental Issues Club were honored recently by United GreenCore for winning first place in the 2026 Native Plant Olympics II Sunflower Competition. The students and their science instructor were feted at a ceremony held at the Greenburgh Library.
The environment-focused students—Sophia Fernandes, Greenburgh; Halo Medina and Layla Arenas, Bronx; and Megan Cousins, Dania George, Juliana Celestino and Vida Magalhaes, Yonkers—began the project last June by prepping the ground and planting in the garden of the renowned all-female Catholic high school sunflower seeds provided by United GreenCore.
Under the direction of their instructor, Mrs. Elizabeth Caban, they cultivated and tracked the growth of the flowers that flourished into a stunning sunflower array, the bright yellow flowers reaching a height of seven feet. Along the...