Sharjah: The call for nominations for the fifth edition of the Sharjah Environment Awareness Award (SEAA) has been officially opened, announced Bee’ah, the Middle East’s leading environment and waste management company.
All schools across the emirate can begin submitting their applications before the registration deadline on October 2.
The award aims to honour schools and pupils for their sustainable projects, and spread awareness on all aspects of the environment, including preserving natural resources, reducing waste disposal, conserving water and creating a sustainable environment.
“Through this award we hope to empower students and teachers with the right knowledge on the environment so they can lead by example and help address future energy challenges. Essentially, the SEAA is all about building the next generation of environmental leaders,” said Meera Taryam, Director of Environmental Services and Education at Beeah.
The SEAA, which is launched through the Bee’ah School of Environment (BSOE), is also designed to help school teachers coach pupils on environmental responsibility using the BSOE’s diverse programmes and activities.
The BSOE will conduct training sessions for registered schools, teachers and pupils to help the schools prepare for the competition’s second phase. This phase will see contestants create projects that involve the wider community, such as institutions, schools’ neighbourhood and parents.
The deadline for submission of projects will be March 12, where the BSOE team will judge and shortlist the most exceptional projects in each category. After that, school visits and interviews will be conducted in April to complete the final phase of the judging process. The award ceremony is set to take place on June 4, 2015.
With 86 schools participating in the fourth edition of the award, the 2015 competition aims to attract a higher number of schools by adding a new category and redistributing the cash prizes. The categories this year include Best Environmental KG, Eco-Creative Arts Project, Environmental Awareness Campaign Project, and a best teachers and students category. A new category for the best Environmental Solutions Projects will be included this year.
In line with the SEAA, the competition will also hold the inter-school recycling competition. The contest urges all participating schools to collect the maximum amount of paper, plastic and aluminum materials. “The registered schools will receive dedicated recycling bins from Tamdeef, the waste collection division of Beeah, along with leaflets demonstrating how to separate waste products,” said Saif Al Sharif, Director of Recycling Business and Operations at Beeah. The school that collects the most recyclables will win a cash prize.
