Deadline extended for Earth Day Essay, Poster and Photography Competition

The deadline for the submission of entries for the Natural History Museum of Jamaica’s (NHMJ) Earth Day competition has been extended to Friday, March 11.

Students are being asked to send in their creative essays, posters and photography works by that date.

Education Outreach Officer of the NHMJ, Dorsia Brooks, told JIS News that the deadline was extended to allow for more students to make submissions. She said a number of calls have come from students interested in participating in the competition.

“Last year, we got 70-odd entries and we are not expecting less this year. The interest is very high, but we know persons are very last minute so we have extended the date,” she said.

The annual competition, organised in collaboration with the Forestry Department, is part of activities to commemorate Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22 each year and aims to promote the preservation of the country’s natural resources.

This year’s Earth Day theme is: ‘Forests for Life’, in keeping with the designation by the United Nations of 2011 as the ‘International Year of Forests’.

Miss Brooks said the competition is open to secondary school students from grades seven to 11, who are required to write essays, design and create posters, and capture photographic images on forest-related themes.

Some of the topics for the essay include: ‘Will saving my local forest prevent global warming?’  ‘What would happen to us if we lost our forests?’ and ‘The only way to preserve forests and their functions is to stop all human use of forest resources’.

‘Save our Forests: Save our Lives’; and ‘Forests, Wonderlands of Beauty and Adventure’ are the respective themes for the poster and photography segments of the competition.

The winning entries will be placed on exhibition on Wednesday, March 16 at the Institute of Jamaica, with the award ceremony to take place on Friday, April 22.

Entry forms and the competition guidelines can be obtained from the Education Department, NHMJ, Institute of Jamaica, 10-16 East Street, Kingston. Persons may also contact the office by calling Dorsia Brooks at 922-0620-6 ext 352 or email: education@nhmj-ioj.org.jm at the Institute of Jamaica.

CONTACT: E. HARTMAN RECKORD