Civano students Nick May, 10, left, and Walker Smith, 11, watch award presentation on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

greg bryan / Arizona Daily Star

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Some Vail area elementary school students became celebrities for a day after a national television talk show recognized them for their environmental contributions.

Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres congratulated Civano Elementary School students on TV Friday for winning the "Go Green and Small with 'All' " contest that highlighted the "greenest" school in the United States.

The show featured a short segment on the school's efforts to save the environment, which includes the use of water harvesting, solar panels and portable water heaters under the sinks.

A camera crew from the talk show went to the school about a week ago to surprise the students.

The school won $50,000, and each student will receive a green iPod with a solar charger and a year's supply of 'All' Small & Mighty concentrated laundry detergent.

Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup presented an oversized $50,000 check to the students and parents at the Civano Community Center.

The school's staff plans on using the money to build a community room with a commercial kitchen.

Civano, which has almost 70 students, was chosen from 10 finalists and more than 3,000 elementary schools around the country, said Stacie Bright, senior communications marketing manager for Unilever, which distributes 'All' detergents.

Students had to write essays describing things they've done at home to help the environment. The students also had to fill out an Eco-Report Card that listed activities they could do in their homes to help the environment, Bright said.

The school was chosen because of the number of report cards and essays the students submitted, she said.

Civano already had a reputation for teaching students how to be environmentally aware, which is why parent Linda Jones recommended the contest to the school's staff.

"With my daughter having an experience here at the school and knowing they were into recycling, I thought it would be something they would be able to take advantage of," said Jones, whose daughter now attends the sixth grade at Corona Foothills Middle School.

Environmental awareness is not only a school philosophy, but also a community philosophy in the Civano neighborhood, near Houghton and Drexel roads.

"A lot of people have solar panels, solar water heaters, and (water) cisterns in many homes," said Civano lead teacher Pam Bateman. "It became a natural thing for us to do."

Some of the students were already using environmentally safe practices before the school entered the contest.

"My family has always been big re-users whenever we can," said Civano fifth-grader Frances Willberg, 10. "We use canvas bags for grocery shopping as well as at the mall."

Willberg's family recycles and uses concentrated laundry detergent, she said.

Tess Holmquist's family re-uses household items as well. They also hang up their clothes instead of putting them in the dryer, she said.

Going 'green' will help sustain resources for future generations, said Holmquist, 11, a fifth-grader.

"It's really important to go green for all our children and grandchildren," she said.

Alyssa Simms,6, helps her father monitor endangered frog and fish species in local creeks, she said.

"I hold them," she said, referring to the frogs.

Simms is a kindergartner at the school, and her father is a biologist, said Karen Simms, Alyssa's mother.

Alyssa also contributes by recycling, helping her parents hang their clothes and cleaning her room.

And she wants people to keep the desert clean.

"What makes me sad is when people throw trash in the desert," she said.