COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — June 8, 2026— The University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene’s Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI) is proud to recognize the North Idaho winners of the 2026 Youth Water Summit. This annual event empowers high school students to investigate and address real-world water issues in their communities through hands-on research, innovation, and public presentation.
Held May 19, 2026, at Kootenai County Fairgrounds, the Summit brought together three hundred high school students from across North Idaho. The event marked the culmination of The Confluence Project, a yearlong field science program led by experts from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Panhandle Health, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Idaho Extension Water Outreach – IdaH2O, and Idaho EcosySTEM.
First-place winners were recognized for their outstanding research and presented projects on a wide range of local water issues. These students conducted clear scientific investigations, addressing topics from sediment impacts on fish habitat to post-wildfire erosion and its remediation. Their research was hypothesis-driven and solution-oriented. We are proud of all the hard work these students accomplished this year.
First-Place Projects
Each first-place winner received a scholarship from North Idaho College.
- Post Falls High School
Jeremiah Clark — Effects of Audible Sound on Stagnant Freshwater Dissolved Oxygen Levels - Coeur d’Alene High School
Isabella Schmehl — Biochar Application to Mitigate Erosion - Sandpoint High School
Vivian Haag — Sediment in Runoff Affecting Fish Spawning in the Pack River - Wallace High School
Ashley Schwartz and Kora Foust — Rose Lake, Dual Threats from Metals and Microplastics - Kellogg High School
Isabella Hollis and Nevaeh Schabell — How does oil pollution affect the aquatic environment? - Paradise Creek Regional High School
Braydon Yaggi and Karly Bergley — Daphnia Pool Party - Lake City High School
Alistair McIntire and Logan Nelson — Mitigating Contaminants in Private Wells
Second-Place Projects
- Post Falls High School
John Misner — The Green Filter: Lemna Minor - Coeur d’Alene High School
Roby Emerson, Jacob Melun, and Colton Rush — Algae Effect on Bass Spawn - Sandpoint High School
Olivia Donahe and Ila Paulk — Stopping the Spread - Wallace High School
Anthony Frank — Human Waste in the Waters… - Kellogg High School
Richard Bewick, Gabe Johnson, and Darren Ruggaber — Water Quality & Swimming - Paradise Creek
Arlo Woodland and Kylera Masters — Flow Force - Lake City High School
Darby Kellner and Rylie Hendricks — Hydro Starts at Home
Third-Place Projects
- Post Falls High School
Kaitlin Andrews and Kailynn Watson — Nature’s Role in Reducing Arsenic - Coeur d’Alene High School
Katarina Roos — Reducing Fertilizer Runoff on Lakefront Properties - Sandpoint High School
Bode Eacret, Grady Przybylski, and Braden Buckhout — Golf Course Effect on Water Bodies - Wallace High School
Henry Larson and Marley Pearce — The Fork Off - Kellogg High School
Abie Torres and McKayla Sims — Overall Effects of Lead Pollution at Bull Run Lake - Paradise Creek
Jeremy Vivar and Rosetta Lindsey — Microorganisms in Paradise Creek - Lake City High School
Emerson Hayes and Tiffany Babine — Air of the Algae
Aubrey Salie — Life of the Lake People
Second and third place winners were also awarded, with second place winners receiving commemorative coins from Sunshine Mines, and third place winners receiving gift cards from local businesses provided by the Panhandle Kiwanis. Other major sponsors include Kootenai County Aquifer Protection District, Johnson Surveying, Stonehenge Development and Government, Hecla Mining, Ardurra Group, TC Energy, and Idaho Central Credit Union.
“The Youth Water Summit is a chance for students to demonstrate how competent they are with scientific inquiry,” said Mike Wood, IWRRI Outreach and Education Coordinator. “The Confluence Project has equipped these young people to be tomorrow’s STEM leaders in water and natural resources”.
For more information about the Youth Water Summit, visit iwrri.uidaho.edu/education-confluence/. If you wish to support the program next year, you can financially contribute here.
