BURNABY, British Columbia — Jennifer H. of Burnaby North Secondary has won the inaugural Canada's Greenest School contest with her essay "Burnaby North: Youth in Action."

Voters across Canada chose her submission, which beat more than 100 entries from nearly 250 students nationwide. Burnaby North Secondary won a hybrid school bus from IC Bus, as well as a green school audit. Jennifer will receive a $3,000 scholarship.

In her essay, Jennifer wrote, "With the help of supportive staff, our Environment Club wants to launch a huge 'Green Rides Campaign' that will reach out to the school district, featuring hybrid school buses and emphasizing on how they are the most efficient, safest, and cheapest solution. We plan to test and record the efficiency of our buses to display the environmental benefits as part of a promotion to other schools."

The other environmental problems she said her school needs to tackle are waste reduction, energy consumption and choice of products. To address these issues, Jennifer wrote that the school should make recycling bins available in every classroom, ban plastic water bottles and print on both sides of paper.

To reduce energy consumption, she encouraged the school to switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, improve building insulation and install energy-efficient appliances. Jennifer also urged the use of eco-friendly cleaning products, locally-produced food served in the cafeteria and the use of biodegradable utensils.