John Myers Jr., Staff ReporterIMMACULATE CONCEPTION and Westwood High schools emerged winners of the Jamaica Environment Trust's (JET) School's Environment Programme, the longest running environmental education programme in Jamaica.
The two schools were ajudged 'most environmentally aware' and were presented with prizes and trophies at a special awards ceremony held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston on Thursday.
Diana McCaulay, executive director of the JET, said judging the winners in this year's competition, which included some 2,900 students, 550 teachers from 353 primary, preparatory and high schools, was most difficult as the students from both schools "were equally knowledgeable, the schools were both beautiful and the research they did was excellent."
"The standards were really, really high, the three of us (judges) just could not agree if either one had an edge...," Mrs. McCauly said.
Maxine Henry-Wilson, the Minister of Education who was guest speaker at the function, lauded the JET for what she described as the "sterling efforts in ensuring the best possible stewardship of Jamaica's natural environment through a range of programmes designed to protect natural resources..."
She said the projects and presentations by the students in the competition were indicative of a plot in a success story which was proof that the pockets of excellence in the education system were deeper and wider than had been acknowledged.
Jamaica, the Education Minister said, was being affected by several environmental problems such as deforestation, poor solid waste and coastal management practices.
"We have to recognise that there is a mutual relationship between man and nature that must be sustained. We protect nature, nature protect us," she emphasised.
The two winning schools, Immaculate from St. Andrew and Westwood from Trelawny, will each get a computer and will share the winning trophy, each school keeping it for six months.
