on 30/04/2026
Are you looking for inspiration for your Oliphant Science Awards project, or wondering how to maximise your chances of success? Take a look at the prizes offered by our fantastic sponsors. In this series of short blog posts, we’ll showcase project ideas and curated resources to help you tailor your entry toward specific sponsor awards.
CO2 and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award (R-6, 7-12)
This Award recognises the most outstanding student entries in each category where the project directly addresses reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Interested? Here are some project suggestions and resources to help you get started!
Photography: ‘Everyday Climate Solutions’
Capture photos to represent the practical ways people reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Focus your project on a clear theme, such as transport, energy or waste. Ideas could include reusable alternatives to single use plastics, renewable energy or public transport.
Poster: ‘Waste Not’ or ‘Carbon in Balance’
Design an informative and visually engaging poster that explains:
- why food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (especially methane)
- simple strategies households and communities can use to reduce food waste
- an emerging technology, such as direct air capture, for diverting carbon emissions from the atmosphere
Game
Design a novel game to help players learn about the carbon cycle and how they can reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Science Writing: ‘Inventing Tomorrow: Climate Solutions for a Cooler Planet’
Combine your scientific understanding with your imagination to explore what future climate solutions might look like. Rather than just describing current technologies, you’ll create a compelling piece of writing that envisions how science and innovation could reshape our world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Models & Inventions
Build a model that demonstrates:
- a positive feedback loop, for example melting polar ice caps → less reflection of radiation → more warming. Highlight intervention points where humans can reduce or slow the cycle.
- an original design for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, or replacing high-emission processes. Explain how it works, its feasibility, and its potential impact.
Science Investigation
Design and conduct a practical investigation to study the production of methane during decomposition, or nitrous oxide formation mediated by microbes in the soil.
Programming, Apps & Robotics
Develop an educational game that teaches players how everyday choices affect their carbon footprint. For example, players might make lifestyle decisions and see emissions increase or decrease in real time.
Create an app that helps users monitor and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Include features such as daily activity tracking (transport, energy use, food), an emissions calculator and tips or challenges to reduce impact.
Multimedia
Produce a short, animated video highlighting the different ways we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions on an individual (diet, transport, energy use), community (shared resources, local initiatives) and societal (policy, industry changes) level.
A great way to find ideas or get started is to read information from organisations and government agencies working in the field of climate change and check out related articles in the media. Here are some resources to help you:
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