Earth Today | Big up youth!
Students awarded for performance in annual Earth Day competition
Published:Thursday | April 25, 2024 | 12:08 AM
A DOZEN youth from educational institutions islandwide were recently recognised for their creative efforts in advocating for the environment.
The occasion was a ceremony held at the Hope Zoo in Kingston to crown high performers in the Earth Day 2024 Competition of the Natural History Museum of Jamaica (NHMJ), a division of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ).
They included Yatin Vanjani of York Castle High School, Deandra-Jamielle Pinto-Campbell of Knox Junior School and Xavannah Elliott, also of Knox Junior School, who placed first, second and third, respectively, in the Poetry Category.
Shavanae Williams of Cedar Grove Academy, Danae Hamilton of St Andrew High School and Kimya Anderson, also of Cedar Grove Academy, placed first, second and second in the Photography category.
Also recognised were Kiara Blagrove of St Andrew High School; Antoria Millington of Rusea’s High and Shante Sinclair of Excelsior Community College, who placed first, second and third, respectively, in the Poster category.
Makini Thompson of Campion College; and Toni-Shae Spence of the Montego Bay Community College were the top performers in the Video category.
Held under the global theme for Earth Day 2024: ‘Planet vs Plastic’, this year’s competition attracted the participation of students aged 12-19 and saw some 70 entries on environmental conservation matters from 21 schools across eight parishes. The parishes were Hanover, Trelawny, St Ann, Clarendon, St Catherine, Kingston & St Andrew, and Manchester.
According to director at NHMJ, Tracy Commock, the entries, which ranged from written to audiovisual creations, “highlight the urgent need to address plastic pollution and promote sustainable practices”.
“This year, the competition takes on added significance as IOJ celebrates 145 years of service, underscoring our longevity and commitment to protecting Jamaica’s biodiversity and fulfilling our mandate of ‘Encouraging Literature, Science and Art’,” she added.
The NHMJ/IOJ Earth Day competition has been organised each year for more than two decades to help promote environmentally friendly practices among the youth and the public as a whole.
The NHMJ is the country’s premier museum concerned with protecting and preserving Jamaica’s rich cultural heritage, including its flora and fauna, through the promotion of sustainable practices for future generations.
Meanwhile, Earth Day 2024 had plastics as its global focus, given the prevailing challenges associated with its ballooning production, overuse and improper disposal across countries.
The 2023 United Nations Environment Report Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy reveals that “a growing number of researchers are quantifying the social, economic and environmental costs of plastic pollution” with scientific literature linking chemicals in plastic and damage to human health at every stage of the plastic life cycle, including workers and ‘fence-line’ communities that live next door to plastic production and waste disposal sites”.
The report has also highlighted that if humanity continues on its current path of plastic production and pollution, “plastic could emit 19 per cent of global greenhouse gas GHG emissions allowed under a 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario by 2040, essentially making the goal out of reach”.
“Significantly, the costs and impacts are borne by all, but fall disproportionally on people in some of the world’s poorest nations,” it noted.