12 Environmental Engineering Projects for High School Students
Taking on environmental engineering projects in high school is one of the most accessible (and rigorous) ways to explore your passion for sustainability, biodiversity, and climate innovation. These projects help you connect classroom concepts with real-world impact, and they’re a great way to boost your academic profile and college applications.
Environmental engineering focuses on addressing some of the most pressing challenges of the modern world, including pollution, water scarcity, clean energy, and climate resilience. By starting early, you gain a foundation in systems thinking, design, and science communication while developing skills that span multiple disciplines.
Here are 12 environmental engineering projects for high school students that are practical, creative, and blend sustainability with engineering principles.
1. House Colour for Reduced Energy Footprint
Field: Structural Environmental Engineering
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
In this project, you will explore how exterior color affects indoor temperature by building shoebox house models painted in light, medium, and dark shades. Place them in sunny or shaded areas and use thermometers to measure internal temperatures over time.
Record your findings and create a graph to visualize which color results in higher temperatures. However, this project employs simplified models that may not fully account for all real-world variables, such as insulation, ventilation, or building materials. This project is a great fit if you are curious about energy efficiency and want to work in the field of climate adaptation.
Resources: Energy Efficiency Now Offers a Technical Justification for Colors
2. Automatic Evaporating Cooling System
Field: Climate-Control Engineering
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Basic electronics, Arduino
In this project, you will create a basic evaporative cooler that replicates the cooling methods of ancient civilizations and examines how contemporary systems are evolving to become more environmentally friendly. To get started, you’ll design a cooling system powered by an Arduino and program it to act like a thermostat. You will assemble a basic circuit and simulate the cooling process using fundamental principles, allowing you to observe how evaporation lowers the temperature.
The project introduces thermal regulation and low-energy cooling systems that are especially effective in arid climates. It’s a blend of electronics and sustainable design, ideal for exploring modern adaptations of ancient techniques.
Resources: Science Buddies Arduino Guide
3. Predicting Air Quality with Machine Learning
Field: Environmental Data Science
Experience Level: Advanced
Prior Knowledge Required: Python, neural networks, ML fundamentals
In this project, you will explore how machine learning can help predict air pollution, an important aspect of protecting public health. You will begin by researching the five major pollutants that affect air quality: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Their combined effect is measured using the Air Quality Index (AQI).
One of the most detail-oriented parts of the project is collecting historical AQI data from a location of your choice. Then, you use Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks to build models that can predict future air quality.
Resources: UCI Machine Learning Repository – Air Quality Dataset
4. DIY Solar Desalination
Field: Renewable Energy & Water Engineering
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
In this project, you will use sunlight to convert saltwater into fresh water with a basic solar still. The crux of the project is experimenting with design tweaks to improve efficiency and measure output over time.
You will start by learning how desalination works, which is by heating up saltwater so that only the water evaporates, leaving the salts behind. The condensed water vapour in liquid form is free of salt. While the setup is low-cost, you will need to be careful when cutting bottles and sealing things properly to avoid leaks.
Resources: Solar-Powered Water Desalination Kit – Home Science Tools®
5. Eco-Experiment To Test Soil Erosion
Field: Environmental Geoscience
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
In this project, you will take on the role of a junior environmental engineer on a mission to create miniature “hillsides” using trays filled with soil, some with seeds planted and others left bare. After the plants grow, simulate rain using a watering can and observe how the water interacts with the soil, checking how much the roots hold the soil together.
You will be testing a concept called economic botany, which explores how plants can help save money while protecting the planet at the same time. The setup is simple but requires a sunny spot for the plants to grow.
Resources: Printed guide from Science Buddies
6. Oil Spill Cleanup Simulation
Field: Pollution Management Engineering
Experience Level: Beginner–Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Oil spills from offshore drilling rigs or large tankers can devastate marine life, coastlines, and ecosystems. In this project, you will simulate an oil spill in a container of water and then test different materials that soak up oil (sorbents) to see which ones work best.
You will be working primarily with oil (vegetable oil or motor oil, depending on what is safe and available), and cleanup will take some time. This project offers an entry point into marine pollution control and the real-world challenges of environmental disaster response.
Resources: Small-Scale Modeling of Oil Spill Cleanup Methods
7. Building a Dew Trap
Field: Survival Engineering & Atmospheric Science
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
This project connects you to the grassroots of traditional science as you'll observe condensation in action and learn how ancient water-harvesting techniques can inspire modern, low-tech solutions for arid regions. In this project, you will construct a simple dew trap to collect moisture overnight.
You will need an outdoor space and a few tools. Weather plays a significant role, and the results accumulate overnight, not instantly. So you will need to practice patience.
This one’s a rewarding experience for eco-curious experimenters, survival enthusiasts, or anyone wondering how to make the most of nature’s resources.
Resources: How to Build a Dew Catcher
8. Build Your Own Solar Air Heater
Field: Solar Energy Engineering
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Thermodynamics basics
In this project, you will create a solar air heater from common materials to demonstrate passive heating. The most basic and important requirement of the project is access to direct sunlight, as it is largely dependent on it.
You can test the effectiveness by tracking temperature changes throughout the day. While the system won’t heat an entire house, it introduces important concepts in energy efficiency. This project is for DIYers, sustainability enthusiasts, and students curious about green energy solutions.
Resources: Autodesk Instructibles - Solar Air Heater
9. Grow Your Own Bricks With Mushroom Mycelium
Field: Bioengineering & Sustainable Construction
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Basic biology, composting
This project explores mycelium composite, a biodegradable material from mushroom roots and agricultural waste, as a sustainable alternative to traditional construction materials like concrete and brick. The basic principle of this experiment is to check the strength of your produce based on how you grow it, which is one of two ways:
Directly in a mold, or
In a bag first, then transferred to a mold for a second growth stage.
You will try both methods and then test the strength of your grown panels using a three-point flexural test. You will also dive into material science and biomimicry, learn about sustainable architecture, and gain hands-on experience with natural composites.
Resources: Mycelium Fungi as a Building Material
10. Electric Vehicle Conversion
Field: Electromechanical Engineering, Renewable Energy, Automotive Design
Experience Level: Advanced
Prior Knowledge Required: Automotive mechanics, electrical systems, battery and motor basics, safety protocols, and tool handling
In this project, you will convert a small gasoline-powered vehicle into an electric vehicle (EV). This involves removing the internal combustion engine and replacing it with an electric motor, battery pack, and controller. You will learn about the inside machinery of the car and then swap it for electric components.
Figuring out battery management systems, energy efficiency, and regenerative braking all come together in this project. You will also calculate how far your EV can go on a full charge and how much cleaner it runs compared to a regular gas engine.
This project is a crash course in electromechanical engineering, renewable energy, and automotive design, and you will walk away with practical skills that translate into real-world green tech careers.
Resources: How to Convert a Gas Car to Electric – EV West
11. Design the Future: Create a Sustainable Building
Field: Sustainable Architecture, Green Building Design, Environmental Engineering
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Design tools (SketchUp, Revit), physics, sustainability concepts
In this project, you will take on the role of an architect and sustainability expert, applying passive solar principles, natural ventilation, and sustainable materials to design a model green building.
You will develop skills in design thinking, systems thinking, environmental analysis, and architectural modelling. You can also take it one step further and use digital design tools to create a scale model that brings your vision to life. Some design tools, however, might also require a learning curve or access to computers or software.
Resources: LEED Green Building Guide – USGBC
12. Hack Your Garden: Build a Smart Irrigation System
Field: Environmental IoT, Agricultural Technology, Water Resource Engineering
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Arduino or Python, basic circuits, sensors
In this project, you will create a smart irrigation system that uses sensors and programming to water plants, utilizing microcontrollers such as Arduino, moisture sensors, relays, and actuators. This system is designed to detect soil moisture and automatically turn irrigation on or off. Another layer of this project would be to integrate weather data and predictive algorithms, allowing your system to adjust for upcoming rain or temperature shifts.
This project will help you pick up skills in electronics, programming (Python or Arduino IDE), data analysis, and environmental science, and you will get exposure to precision agriculture. This project requires a basic understanding of circuits and coding, and you may need to source components such as moisture sensors, relays, and power supplies.
Resources: Smart Irrigation System using Arduino
If you’re looking to build a project/research paper in the field of environmental engineering and AI & ML, consider applying to Veritas AI!
With Veritas AI, which was founded by Harvard graduate students, you can work 1-on-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn AI & ML with us. You can apply here!
Image Source - Veritas AI Logo