Lacombe Composite High School named Americas finalist for Zayed Sustainability Prize
The school's BeeWise BeeCube system, built to protect bee colonies, earned it a spot as one of three Americas finalists in the global award.
Why it matters
The recognition highlights Central Alberta students' growing role in international sustainability innovation, following a win by a nearby school just a year earlier.
Ecole Secondaire Lacombe Composite High School has been named an Americas finalist for the 2027 Zayed Sustainability Prize, an award given by the United Arab Emirates since 2008 to recognize excellence in sustainability. The Lacombe school is one of three finalists from the Americas region.
The nomination recognizes the school's BeeWise BeeCube system, a student-built project designed to help save bee colonies. Principal Valerie Yaremchuk said becoming a finalist is a proud moment for the school community, adding that students have shown how combining technology with environmental stewardship can produce real-world solutions to global challenges.
The recognition comes a year after Mamawi Atosketan Native School in Maskwacis won the 2026 Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Global High Schools category, meaning two Central Alberta schools have now been finalists or winners in consecutive years.
Winners of the 2027 Zayed Sustainability Prize will be announced Jan. 12, 2027, in Abu Dhabi during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Yaremchuk said winning would let the school scale up the project's environmental work and further empower students to address agricultural sustainability challenges.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.