And This Year’s Award for Disney’s Planet Challenge Goes To…

During a special awards ceremony held onboard the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Fantasy, a classroom of elementary school students in the Cayman Islands celebrated their success as winners of the 2012 Disney’s Planet Challenge (DPC) for the Cayman Islands. DPC is the in-classroom component of Friends for Change.

The Year 6 class from Triple C School beat out more than 1,300 other students in 69 classes to win the award for their “Save the Wetlands” project. Led by teacher Sharmaine Campbell, the students partnered with the local Department of Environment to better understand threatened wetland areas in the Cayman Islands. Then, they hosted public events to educate the community, developed plans to battle soil erosion, and organized a 5K walk to raise awareness.

The result? Their efforts are paying off by helping preserve habitats for all kinds of Cayman wildlife like blue iguanas, whistling ducks and upside-down jellyfish. How cool is that?

Read below for more news about Disney and conservation:

• Disneyland Resort Sponsors Local Community Garden
• Wildlife Wednesdays: Walt Disney’s Words Tell Today’s Conservation Story
• Disney Cruise Line Guests Team Up with Crew Members to Help Protect Chimpanzees