(EMU) – St. Kitts, February 25, 2016: The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is “Going Green”, in celebration of Earth Week 2016 :- a week of activities to acknowledge Earth Day 2016 – a first in the country’s history.
The launch of the Earth Week initiative was held at the St. Kitts Eco-Park with a packed house compromising civil society and private sector partners. The Ministry of Education has pledged its support to the Earth Week committee in this venture as it seeks to make a difference towards a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Hon Shawn Richards reaffirmed the Ministry’s support of the Earth Week committee. The Minister urged the audience to teach the youths about conservation, “We recognize that as the future leaders of St. Kitts and Nevis we need to begin to teach our children different ways in which they can preserve our environment.” He went on to state the Ministry’s contribution thus far, “Recently, we donated agricultural equipment to all of the schools in St. Kitts and Nevis, particularly greenhouses because we also recognize within the Ministry of Education that we are able to grow food organically.”
The Earth Week Committee is on a mission to change the perception and behaviours through sustained and concerted efforts; the youths within the federation being the primary focus. Initiatives such as partnering with one of the Organization of American States agencies, namely The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), to implement school gardens and teach the students how to plant and produce fruit and vegetable gardens as well as to present alternative agricultural methods using less soil and water.
During remarks, spokesperson for the Earth Week committee, Mrs. Carlene Henry Morton emphasized the importance of setting good examples for the youths of the nation, “We have to excite and engender that collective consciousness to advance a movement that places priority on conservation, on preservation, on sustainability. This is exactly the spirit and mission of Earth Week 2016 St. Kitts and Nevis, being celebrated under the theme: ‘We Are Going Green’.”
Other initiatives by the earth week committee include an online petition, part of the world-wide initiative that would require fifteen thousand signatures from St. Kitts and Nevis; a landfill tourfor students and ‘a trash to treasureproject’.
Ministers of cabinet including Hon. Ian “Patches” Liburd, Minister of Public Infrastructure and Hon. Lindsay Grant, Minister of Tourism; members of the diplomatic corps; Resident Taiwanese Ambassador, His Excellency George Gow Wei Chiou, and representative from the Organization of American States (OAS) Mr. Terrence Craig were at the event to show full support and solidarity towards the worthy cause.
Earth Day is an annual worldwide observation, celebrated on April 22 featuring events that demonstrate and encourage action and support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970.
(Press release courtesy of the Ministry of Education Media and Communications Unit)