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Denham Springs students win state Samsung award, pitch SafetyC app; Keep Livingston Beautiful reports spike in cleanups

3577343 · February 28, 2025

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Summary

Students from Denham Springs High School showed a prototype sensor and app called SafetyC designed to let residents sample and monitor carbon dioxide in Lake Maripah; the team won Louisiana’s Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest and a $12,000 technology grant.

Denham Springs High School students on Feb. 27 presented a prototype device and smartphone app they call SafetyC — a sensor-and-app system the students say would let residents test and monitor carbon dioxide levels in Lake Maripah and access local water-quality information.

Teacher Mark Zweig explained the class competed in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow program and said the student team had worked with university faculty and professionals to develop the idea. "We came up with a solution that we think is novel," Zweig said. The students demonstrated a small water-sampling concept they said would dip a tube about 6 inches into the water and send readings via Bluetooth to the app.

The council applauded after the presentation when parish officials announced the team had been named Louisiana state champion in the Samsung contest and that the school received a $12,000 technology grant. Presenters said the team could advance to national competition for additional awards between $50,000 and $100,000.

Keep Livingston Beautiful: Linda Gardner, director of Keep Livingston Beautiful, told the council the program has expanded trash-collection efforts from two days a week to five days a week in partnership with the sheriff's department and other local businesses. She said trustees collected more than 4,200 trash bags in December and that the group recorded more than 9,000 litter bags and about 11,120 volunteer hours for the previous year. Gardner said the parish and partners are running a tire-recycling event that accepts up to five tires per person and require an ID as mandated by DEQ rules.

Why it matters: The student project aims to give residents more information about a local lake under discussion in recent parish meetings; the presentation also highlighted STEM education partnerships with universities and private-sector mentors. The Keep Livingston Beautiful report showed measurable volunteer engagement and tangible figures the parish uses to report state-level litter and recycling activity.

Ending: The council recognized the students with a certificate and the parish president and council members encouraged continued community partnerships for both school-led problem solving and parish cleanup programs.