The Guyana Mangrove Rest-oration Project (GMRP) on Monday launched its solid waste management and energy conservation awareness programme, beginning with the schools within the Golden Grove to Belfield Mangrove Reserve.
A key aspect of the programme will be a “We’re the Cleanest” competition among the 12 schools within the mangrove reserve, with a prize of $100,000 which has been sourced from a private donor, a GMRP press release said.
The awareness programme was launched at President’s College (PC), which is the premier learning institution of the schools in the area and is expected to set high standards for the competition, the GMRP said.
Judging will be done over the next four months, during which the panel of judges will make random visits to the school and take photographs to document their findings. The competition will conclude in time for the winning school to be announced at the start of the new school term in September.
The GMRP awareness campaign, which will fan out into the wider community, is starting with secondary schools in the reserve, working downwards to the nursery level.
GMRP Chair Annette Arjoon-Martins made the presentation at the launch that included photographs taken a week prior at the school’s environs.
The photograph were taken during a visit with a team comprising engineering students from the University of Guyana and visiting scientist Dr N Rao from the energy institute (TERI) in Delhi, India, who were conducting a preliminary energy use audit of the school.
Photographs which captured the solid waste management issues that needed to be addressed drew loud feedback from the 700 students. “Using pictures of their own school demonstrated the value of a photo being worth a thousand words as there was no need for further explanation as to what the challenges were,” Arjoon-Martins said.
She also said that she was encouraged by the fact that the school’s administration had already started to address the matter, placing larger bins in some sections of the school.
Students were also urged to ensure that the smaller bins in their classrooms were emptied regularly. “It is this proactive response that the awareness programme is seeking to promote,” she said.
Lynne Lewis, Environ-mental Science Teacher at the school said, “It was very important that the Mangrove Project took time to come and discuss the value of mangroves and the function it serves, and to show the impact of looking after the environment.”
“It was particularly effective for them to use the PowerPoint rather than just talking to the students, that approach got their attention on this crucial matter,” she added.
