George Stephens students aim for cleaner environment

The students of the George Stephens Sr. Secondary School believe that they have the solution for pollution – Thrashing it.{{more}}

The members of the school’s Environmental Club made this clear on Monday, March 21, when they unveiled their project, as part of the Corea’s and Hazells Inc Schools’ Environment Preservation Project Competition, which kicked off last year.

Monday’s launch included a march and rally, followed by an exhibition of items which were recycled using garbage, which would have ordinarily found itself in drains, rivers and beaches, if not in a proper waste disposal receptacle.

The march, which took place through the South Rivers community, highlighted the plight of pollution in the area, with students carrying placards carrying tips on ways in which the problem can be beaten.

The rally which followed featured dramatization and poems from students, as well as a Powerpoint presentation on the effects of the different aspects of pollution on the local, regional and international environment.

Featured speaker at the rally Symantha George, Public Relations Assistant and Marketing Assistant at the Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA), commended the students on their initiative and urged them to encourage others to move away from the littering and polluting culture, which she says seems to be creeping into all walks of society.

“I recently visited a school in Kingstown and observed a young man having bought a (product), ate it, and threw the wrapper right on the floor without missing a beat. Do you know that the bin was less than ten feet away?”

“I asked myself how can people be so inconsiderate to the environment and I realized that he was doing what he was accustomed to doing.”

“We need to correct this mindset. We need to highlight the impacts both present and future of the illicit dumping of garbage and littering on our lives and on our livelihoods. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that the message gets across.”

She also informed the students that a recent visit by CWSA teams to a number of communities revealed the community of South Rivers as one of the more polluted rivers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and called for the students to be the monitor and change agents in their community.

Also addressing the students was Principal (ag) Anella Roban, who said the competition was fitting and timely, given the various environmental catastrophes taking place around the world, and will help the students become more environment conscious.

“This will help the students to get an awareness and sensitivity to the environment and its problems. It will also help student to get the skills to identify, investigate and contribute to solutions of environmental issues and problems.”

She said that the involvement in the project will give the students an opportunity to participate and use their knowledge and skills in preserving the environment.

Project coordinator and teacher Kendra King indicated that the students had already undertaken some tasks in the project, which includes a number of in school competitions, tree planting and fact sheet distribution to members of the community.

Other projects will be conducted during the course of the competition.

About 15 secondary schools are participating in the project, which is a joint effort between Coreas Hazells Inc and the Ministry of Education.

The competition ends in April, with a number prizes up for grabs.