MORE?than 1 000 students drawn from 20 primary and secondary schools were given lessons in greening solutions and environmental science at the seventh Environmental Arbor Day at the National Conservation Commission (NCC) in Codrington, St Michael, yesterday.
NCC?special projects officer Ricardo Marshall hailed the expo as a resounding success and said he was delighted with the response and the interest shown from the scores of schoolchildren, some of whom were nursery kids.
“I am really pleased with the interest shown. It is important that the youth know more about the environment and it is pleasing we are making strides in that direction,” he said.
Children were especially enthused with the tents sponsored by the Future Centre Trust, Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Huge crowds also flocked to the NCC nursery.
Master’s Touch was one of the companies that exhibited its environmental services and supplies, and, according to its managing director Lancelot Myers, the expo was a step in the right direction.
“It was refreshing to see so many young people in the various school buses coming and going. It is important they understand where the environmental green programme is going in this country.
“I trust that the young people will understand and be inspired to know that we can keep this country environmentally friendly,” he said.
Myers thinks that educational gains are gradually being made.
“There are some folks in the entire management of this whole process that are still slow and a little backward but there are others like Ricardo Marshall, who is very much a part of the way forward.
“I pray that he will continue to focus his attention on ensuring that this NCC?project becomes [managed in an environmentally friendly way]. I was extremely thrilled to see the future involved in the present,” he added.
This is the first year that the expo, which featured 40 tents yesterday, will be spread over two days.
The second segment, slated for today at the same venue and starting at 10 a.m., is open to the public and should feature organic entertainment and a fashion show. More than 60 tents are expected to be part of the expo. (MK)
