The Beye Elementary School Green Team has earned global recognition for its creativity and environmental leadership. Their short film, The Dishwasher Quest, was named one of just 10 winning films worldwide in the 2025 One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest. Even more impressively, Beye was one of only two elementary groups honored this year — the other hails from Ukraine.
As part of their award—the Environmental Activism Award, sponsored by the Jane Goodall Institute—Beye’s young filmmakers experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Saturday, Sept. 13: meeting world-renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall at the Roots and Shoots “Good for All Fair” at Lincoln Park Zoo. Students heard Dr. Goodall speak, met her in person, took photos, and even received her autograph.
The Dishwasher Quest tells the story of how Beye students turned concern about cafeteria waste into real change. Two years ago, Beye’s dishwasher broke, forcing the school to switch from reusable silverware to single-use plastic utensils. Seeing how much plastic was being thrown away every day, the Green Team set out to make a difference.
To start, students counted every plastic spork used during one lunch period—144 in a single day. That added up to 26,000 sporks a year at Beye alone, and nearly 390,000 across the district’s 10 schools. Using this data, they created a documentary to show the environmental impact and lobby for a new dishwasher.
“We made our film because we wanted people to see how much students can do when we care about something deeply,” the Beye Green Team said in its contest submission. “We wanted to show that kids have voices that matter. We’re not too young to understand the problem—and we’re definitely not too young to be part of the solution.”
The Beye Green Team is one of the school’s proudest and longest-standing traditions, with a history of student-led sustainability projects that have earned local and regional recognition. Parent volunteers Lauren Smith-MacGregor and Kara Finnegan have guided the team for more than seven years, with Lizz Kannenberg joining their leadership more recently. Together, they have inspired students to learn about environmental issues, take meaningful action, and see that their voices can drive real change.
The Dishwasher Quest was produced by Kannenberg, with more than 70 students involved in the Green Team overall and 25 students contributing directly to the film.
In addition to their One Earth Film Fest honor, The Dishwasher Quest was screened as part of the Oak Park Film Festival on Sept. 14, where it earned an Honorable Mention in the Young Filmmaker category. Two student filmmakers joined Finnegan on a Q&A panel following the screening, answering questions alongside other filmmakers.
The film was also featured during the global premiere of this year’s winning entries on Sept. 21 at the Davis Theater in Chicago, where The Dishwasher Quest screened alongside entries from around the world.
“I’m so proud of our students for turning their concern into action,” said Beye Principal Cheryl Sullivan. “They noticed a problem, gathered the facts, and used their voices to make a positive change. Their creativity and persistence make our whole school—and really, our entire Oak Park community—proud.”