Limavady pupils urged to nominate teachers

Organised by Belfast Harbour and Action Renewables, and launched by Environment Minister Edwin Poots in May, the unique competition aims to reward primary school teachers for showing leadership and taking responsibility for the environment. Thousands of pupils in over 900 primary schools across Northern Ireland are being given the opportunity to help their teacher be crowned 'Green Teacher of the Year' by telling Action Renewables, in no more than 100 words, about the hard work their teacher does to look after the environment and educate children about 'green' issues. Mrs Crosbie from Donemana Primary School, Strabane, was the overall winner of the inaugural competition last year. All entries must be made to Action Renewables by October 22nd when they will be judged by a panel of experts, including David Knott, Environmental Manager, Belfast Harbour, and Laura Coey, Primary School climate change teacher, Action Renewables as well as two other "green" company representatives from Glen Dimplex and ESBIE. Six finalists and their classes will be invited to take part in an all-expenses-paid fun challenge day at W5 on Wednesday, November 24th, where they will meet Webster, Belfast Harbour's environmental Port 'Monster', invent wind-powered racing machines and enjoy an interactive 'Talking Rubbish' show. The day will conclude with one teacher being awarded the coveted Belfast Harbour Green Teacher of the Year title by Minister Poots and winning tickets for their class to see the "Snowman" at the Waterfront Hall. There will also be prizes for the two runner ups of hampers, W5 tickets for their classes and all finalists will receive goodie bags. An additional feature this year will see the Ulster Orchestra perform at the challenge day with a number of workshops

Roy Adair, Belfast Harbour CEO, said: "Last year's inaugural Green Teacher of the Year Award proved a major success, attracting over 130 entries from primary schools across Northern Ireland and significantly raising the schoolchildren's awareness of a range of environmental issues. We are well on course to attract even more entries this year and, with the clock ticking until October 22nd, I would encourage pupils to put their teacher forward for the prize – the more entries submitted from each class, the more chance that teacher has of winning.

"As the first Harbour Authority in the world to be accredited as CarbonNeutral, Belfast Harbour is actively committed to fulfilling our environmental responsibilities and highlighting the benefits of reducing waste and energy consumption to a wider audience. The Green Teacher initiative is a key element of our extensive engagement with schools and provides an excellent platform to present the message of environmental responsibility and accountability to society's future leaders. For the lucky six finalists, the essence of the challenge day in W5 is to keep it exciting, competitive but most of all… fun filled! The day is an experiential treat that will stay with the pupils for years to come."

Nicola Chang, New Business Developer, Action Renewables, said: "Action Renewables is delighted to once again join forces with Belfast Harbour in a competition which recognises primary school teachers' continued commitment to environmental projects and educates children at a young age about green issues which will hopefully stay with them for life. Having the support of Minister Poots was a massive boost to the success of last year's event and we look forward to him once again presenting the prizes at the challenge day in November."

Webster hit the road recently with Action Renewables' juice-making bicycle, which makes fruit juices through pedaling, to encourage children to nominate their teacher for the competition. Any primary schoolchildren who think their teacher deserves the Green Teacher of the Year title should send their entry, which should consist of no more than 100 words, to 'Belfast Harbour Green Teacher of the Year 2010', Action Renewables, The Innovation Centre, NI Science Park, Queen's Road, Belfast BT3 9DT or email [email protected] by October 22nd to ensure their teacher doesn't miss out.