Two groups of students from the Delta School District have won the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) National Competition.
Seaquam is the first school in western Canada to participate in the program – next year the program will be open to students across the country – and the six students took first place in both the Photograph and Video categories.
YRE is a United Nations sponsored program where students report and take action on local sustainability issues.
“It is a tremendous achievement,” said Michael Iachetta, a teacher at Seaquam Secondary. “These students are the real deal. They care deeply about their work and the world around them. This was their initiative and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The students, Abnash Bassi, Parvin Malhi and Khushi Bimbrahw in grade 9, and Pranav Agnihotri, Sarvan Gill and Dryden Wiebe in grade 11, worked to create sustainability-centred video and photograph, respectively. This year’s theme was focused on an inquiry approach to local plastic solutions.
Although the students appreciate the recognition, it is clear that they were motivated by their desire to learn and to share that learning with their fellow students and community.
“We felt that this would be a good opportunity to connect with the community and spread awareness about plastic pollution,” says Bassi. “It was a great way for us to share insight into the issue and to learn more about it ourselves.”
The winners recently traveled to Toronto to receive both their individual and school award.
Students from 27 countries participated in the project this year where Delta was partnered with students from a school in Kazakhstan to coordinate their projects.
The competition is held annually to recognize the great work being done by motivated Young Reporters around the world.