On Thursday April 22, 2010, The Natural History Museum of Jamaica (NHMJ) of The Institute of Jamaica will celebrate the 11th staging of its Earth Day, Essay, Poster & Photography competition at its Awards ceremony at the Institute of Jamaica Lecture Hall, starting at 10:00 am.
The theme for this year’s competition is Biodiversity at Risk to coincide with the designation of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity (IYOB) by the United Nations.
The IYOB is themed “Biodiversity is Life: Biodiversity is our Life” and is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity to our lives. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard biodiversity; the variety of life on earth. During the year governments, institutions, and communities will engage in activities that highlight the role of humans as a part of nature’s biodiversity, the importance of biodiversity in sustaining life on earth, and the acceleration of biodiversity loss that is occurring as a result of human activity.
The competition over the years has served as a medium for exposing students and the wider school communities to environmental awareness issues.
Since 1990, the Institute of Jamaica through the NHMJ has been involved in various activities to highlight “Earth Day,” which is celebrated worldwide on April 22. These activities have included exhibitions, concerts and poster campaigns.
The competition consists of three categories-Essay, Poster and Photography components, the latter having been introduced in 2007.
Twenty schools participated in this year’s competition with approximately 76 entries; 21 essay entries, 41 poster entries on the theme “Biodiversity and Human Society” and 14 photography entries depicting the theme “Biodiversity: Its Glory and Demise.” The entries are judged based on several criteria, chief among them being originality, interpretation of theme and presentation of content.
The observation of Earth Day was initiated by Harvard Law student Dennis Hayes in 1970. It has since gained momentum taking on a global perspective.
The competition is open to secondary school students from grades 7-11. Schools wishing to enter this competition may contact the Natural History Museum of Jamaica at the Institute of Jamaica.
Sajoune Rose (Ms.)
Public Relations Officer
Institute of Jamaica
10-16 East Street
Kingston
Tel: 922-0620-6 ext.321
Fax: 922-1147/922-3795
Website: www.instituteofjamaica.org.jm
Email: pr@instituteofjamaica.org.jm
