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Green Matters Essay Contest (Deadline April 1, 2010) Eco Kids Earth Day Challenge (Deadline April 30, 2010) |
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NEW!
2010 Green Matters Essay Contest
The City of Fredericton is committed to being an environmental leader. Our City is already green, but we want to be greener! That is why we are dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint, and making this community the most sustainable it can be! We are continuing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but there is still a lot to accomplish!. Achieving our sustainability goals will be challenging, that is why everyone in the community must help! Even small environmentally friendly changes in your life can have a big impact as we try to reduce our City’s carbon footprint.
The topic of the essay contest is:
MAKE THE CHANGE: @Home, @School, and @Play!
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mohandas K. Gandhi
That famous quote by Gandhi has inspired generations to go out and change the world around them. Children and youth are eager to learn, and to convey to others the knowledge they acquire. They have great ideas and are excited when those ideas evolve into action.
In 2008 we asked essay writers to tell us why green really matters in our community, and why being environmentally conscious is so important. Last year, we followed up, by asking students to draft a letter to the Prime Minister, encouraging him to make changes that will make our country a more sustainable place to live.
This year, we are giving students the opportunity to encourage change themselves, by telling us what they would do to make changes in their homes, at school, and at play. This year’s contest focuses on how children and youth would change their home, school, or community, if they were given the opportunity. We want to know what projects, events or activities they would set into motion to create the greatest positive, long-term change for our environment.
So students, what would you do? Put solar panels on the roof of your school to generate energy? Plant more trees to suck in carbon dioxide? Have mandatory anti-idling zones in your school and neighborhood? Start a litterless lunch program at your school? There are no boundaries so dream your green dream and tell us about it!
For inspiration and ideas, check out these useful websites:
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/kids/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/
We encourage educators to use this opportunity to talk to your students about the environment. If you are looking for more information or resources that include discussion topics that align with curriculum, please email greenmatters@fredericton.ca. This is an excellent chance to get your students writing about their hopes and dreams for a greener future.
Eligibility
There are four categories: Elementary school (K-2); Elementary school (3-5); Middle school; and, High school. Eligible students must currently be attending Fredericton area schools (refer to the list below) in Districts 1 and 18.
Prizes
Winning essays will be posted on the Green Matters website at www.greenmattersfredericton.com. The winner in each category will receive a cash prize and a certificate. The breakdown is as follows:
Elementary Grades K-2 Max. 150 words First Prize $200
Elementary Grades 3-5 Max. 250 words First Prize $200
Middle School Max. 750 words First Prize $300
Second Prize $100
High School Max. 1000 words First Prize $500
Second Prize $200
Eligible schools are:
Elementary schools: Barker's Point, Connaught Street, Forest Hill, Garden Creek, Liverpool Street, Marysville, McAdam Avenue, Montgomery Street, Nashwaaksis Memorial, New Maryland, Park Street, Priestman Street, Royal Road, South Devon, and Douglas School
Middle schools: Albert Street, George Street, Devon, and Nashwaaksis
High schools: Leo Hayes High School, Fredericton High School
Francophone schools: École Sainte-Anne and École des Bâtisseurs
Once again, there will be a will be a collection of environment-themed books for the school that submits the most essays, as a percentage of their school population.
So, get writing and have fun!
Deadline
Deadline for all submissions is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 1, 2010.
Judging
Entries will be judged for quality of the response.
Winners will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, 2010. Time and location is yet to be determined.
Guidelines
Submissions will be accepted in both official languages.
All entries, except in the Elementary K-2 and 3-5 categories, must be typed, and double-spaced. Entries in the K-2 and 3-5 categories, can either be typed or printed/written legibly, and may include a picture.
Please include on the cover page: your name, school, teacher’s name, and teacher’s email address. Your teacher will be contacted in the event your essay is selected.
Class sets of submissions can be made in hard copy to:
Green Matters
PO Box 130, 397 Queen Street
Fredericton, NB
E3B 4Y7
We do prefer, however, that you submit essays electronically to greenmatters@fredericton.ca. Electronic submissions must be sent as file attachments in Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF format
