WWF-UK: NI School On Top Of 'Our World'
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NI School On Top Of 'Our World'
A primary school in Northern Ireland has won the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to a competition organised by WWF - the global environment network and the Department of the Environment. Ballymena Primary School has become one of only four schools from across the UK which will each receive a £15,000 grant and an opportunity for one of their pupils to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, this summer.
Trip of a lifetime
The £15,000 grant will be used by Ballymena Primary School to complete a number of projects with Education for Sustainable Development at the core. The school will carry out a sustainability audit and other activities include water conservation, recycling, planting an orchard, seed planting, litter surveys, adventure play areas and a weather station. Then in late August 2002, the winning pupil, ten year-old Peter Burton, selected by BBC Newsround, will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa with three fellow 'WWF Earth Champions' from the winning schools in England, Scotland and Wales. There they will join world leaders as they discuss the future of our planet at the World Summit on Sustainable Development - one of the most significant events of the decade.
The 'WWF Earth Champions' will play an active role at the Summit and in the preparations leading up to it. They will be expected to voice their opinions and those of other young people back home and report back, direct from the Summit, on decisions taken. They will have the opportunity to interview ministers and other delegates. Prior to the Summit they will also take part in online debates on the new 'Our World' website at www.wwflearning.co.uk with pupils from across the UK, which will culminate in the posting of messages to Prime Minister Tony Blair before he leaves for the Summit.
Jim Kitchen Head of WWF Northern Ireland said: "Our young people will be the beneficiaries of the actions taken by world leaders in Johannesburg so it is vitally important for them to be involved in the decision making process. The standard of entries to the Schools Challenge was exceptional and Ballymena Primary School is to be congratulated for submitting such an imaginative and varied project. It will ensure that sustainable development issues are fully integrated into the school community and the curriculum."
Dermot Nesbitt, Minister for the Environment added his praise saying: "I would like to congratulate Ballymena Primary School not just in winning this award but also for its record in integrating care for the environment into the life of school as well as the curriculum. I am delighted at both the number and quality of the entries for the competition from Northern Ireland schools and I take great encouragement that our young people and their schools have such an awareness of the challenges facing us and a willingness to do something about it."
Commenting on the school's success, Harold Brownlow, Headteacher at Ballymena Primary School said: "We have always ensured that environmental and conservation issues are incorporated into the school activities as they are a vital part of the curriculum. The teachers and pupils here are delighted that the plan we submitted was successful and we hope that our project will help to explore Sustainable Development more fully and help pupils gain a deeper understanding of its significance for their future and that of future generations."
The Schools Challenge was part of a series of events organised as part of the unique WWF 'Our World' project, which provides all teachers and pupils across the UK, with opportunities to incorporate Sustainable Development into the curriculum. Through online debates and activities at www.wwflearning.co.uk, it allows young people to add their voices to the debates about environment and poverty taking place at the World Summit this summer. The Summit in Johannesburg is the ten-year anniversary of the original Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
The £15,000 grant will be used by Ballymena Primary School to complete a number of projects with Education for Sustainable Development at the core. The school will carry out a sustainability audit and other activities include water conservation, recycling, planting an orchard, seed planting, litter surveys, adventure play areas and a weather station. Then in late August 2002, the winning pupil, ten year-old Peter Burton, selected by BBC Newsround, will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa with three fellow 'WWF Earth Champions' from the winning schools in England, Scotland and Wales. There they will join world leaders as they discuss the future of our planet at the World Summit on Sustainable Development - one of the most significant events of the decade.
The 'WWF Earth Champions' will play an active role at the Summit and in the preparations leading up to it. They will be expected to voice their opinions and those of other young people back home and report back, direct from the Summit, on decisions taken. They will have the opportunity to interview ministers and other delegates. Prior to the Summit they will also take part in online debates on the new 'Our World' website at www.wwflearning.co.uk with pupils from across the UK, which will culminate in the posting of messages to Prime Minister Tony Blair before he leaves for the Summit.
Jim Kitchen Head of WWF Northern Ireland said: "Our young people will be the beneficiaries of the actions taken by world leaders in Johannesburg so it is vitally important for them to be involved in the decision making process. The standard of entries to the Schools Challenge was exceptional and Ballymena Primary School is to be congratulated for submitting such an imaginative and varied project. It will ensure that sustainable development issues are fully integrated into the school community and the curriculum."
Dermot Nesbitt, Minister for the Environment added his praise saying: "I would like to congratulate Ballymena Primary School not just in winning this award but also for its record in integrating care for the environment into the life of school as well as the curriculum. I am delighted at both the number and quality of the entries for the competition from Northern Ireland schools and I take great encouragement that our young people and their schools have such an awareness of the challenges facing us and a willingness to do something about it."
Commenting on the school's success, Harold Brownlow, Headteacher at Ballymena Primary School said: "We have always ensured that environmental and conservation issues are incorporated into the school activities as they are a vital part of the curriculum. The teachers and pupils here are delighted that the plan we submitted was successful and we hope that our project will help to explore Sustainable Development more fully and help pupils gain a deeper understanding of its significance for their future and that of future generations."
The Schools Challenge was part of a series of events organised as part of the unique WWF 'Our World' project, which provides all teachers and pupils across the UK, with opportunities to incorporate Sustainable Development into the curriculum. Through online debates and activities at www.wwflearning.co.uk, it allows young people to add their voices to the debates about environment and poverty taking place at the World Summit this summer. The Summit in Johannesburg is the ten-year anniversary of the original Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
Earth Champion Peter was congratulated on his success by Northern Ireland Minister for the Environment, Dermot Nesbitt (left) and Jim Kitchen, Head of WWF Northern Ireland before his visit to Downing Street.