Founder18
Daniel Thomas
17 Y/O•Colleyville, Texas, USA•Other

Daniel Thomas

Received the U.S. EPA’s 2024 President’s Environmental Youth Award (EPA Region 6) for founding LitterScout and organizing cleanups across Euless, Colleyville, and Grapevine that kept 16,703 lbs of trash out of waterways — per EPA press release (July 16, 2024).

What they built

Founded LitterScout at age 11 in Euless, Texas after discovering a trash-filled creek in his community. LitterScout is a free app and crowdsourcing platform that lets individuals and groups report, organize, and track litter cleanup efforts in real time — including location mapping, litter statistics, and volunteer coordination tools. The initiative has mobilized thousands of volunteers to remove over 45,000 pounds of trash from waterways and public spaces, earning the 2024 President's Environmental Youth Award from the EPA and a 2025 Gloria Barron Prize Runner-Up honor. Daniel has since expanded with inventions including ClearWTR (an affordable solar-powered portable water purifier) and Mwalimu (a low-cost offline WiFi server bringing environmental education to rural and underserved areas).

View Project

The F18 Thesis

Verified track record

  • EPA Region 6 President's Environmental Youth Award press release (July 2024) (source)
  • Fort Worth Report — "Colleyville teen environmentalist hopes his litter cleanup generates domino effect" (Aug 2025) (source)
  • Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes 2025 Runner-Up profile (source)
  • WFAA Facebook (DFW ABC affiliate) — Colleyville student Daniel Thomas, ClearWTR invention, email publicly listed (source)
  • Scout Life National Magazine (March 2026): cited in Barron Prize profile
  • LitterScout official site (source)
Updated April 27, 2026