Inspiring students on issues of conservation
Celebrating its 125th year, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka (WNPS) has been a pioneer of conservation activities in the country. With the establishment of the Youth Wing in 2018, the WNPS aims to encourage and facilitate conservation among the youth of the nation.
The Youth Wing has since been on a mission to raise awareness on biodiversity, environmental issues and the need for conservation amongst school children all around the island.
Combining this with colour and creativity, the Youth Wing will be holding their second ever All-Island Poster Competition in Colombo on November 3 at the Western Province Aesthetic Resort (opposite the Planetarium) from 10 am to 2pm.Their goal is to inspire, engage and educate kids on the importance of protecting the environment, and this has led them to create a three step programme to implement these values in a sustainable way.
The first step is a presentation and discussion on the topics of biodiversity, climate change, deforestation, pollution and humananimal coexistence. The second step is a field trip to a national park. Students have been taken to Wasgamuwa, Wilpattu, Horton Plains and Udawalawe national parks for a first-hand experience of Sri Lanka’s protected areas.
The final step is the poster competition titled ‘Colouring Our Future’, for students to showcase their artistic talents and further the message of conservation.
With the support of NDB bank, the team engaged with schools from the Jaffna,
Kilinochi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Hatton, Gampaha and Wasgamuwa regions this year, visiting 41 schools in total. In 2018, the team worked with schools in Colombo, Galgamuwa and Udawalawe.
This year’s theme is ‘Conservation and Development’. Students are given 5 minutes to present 2 posters under this theme. While the students were provided with the papers for the poster (sustainably created from elephant dung), they were free to present the posters in any medium or language of their choice.
Regional competitions were held for the North, Wasgamuwa, Hatton and the Gampaha area and a percentage of schools from each region were selected accordingly by a 3-person judging panel, for the All-Island competition. In total, 41 schools took part in the programmes, with 24 from the North, 9 from Hatton, 4 from Wasgamuwa, and 3 from Gampaha.
“The WNPS Youth Wing is excited to be bringing together children from all across the island for its All-Island Poster Competition. It will showcase the state of Sri Lankan’s environment through the eyes of our youth - who will be literally colouring their futures,” says Zaineb Akbarally, Chairperson of the Youth Wing of WNPS.
The winners of the regional poster competitions from 20 schools will present their posters at the All-Island Poster Competition on November 3.
Entrance is free of charge, and all are welcome to witness the talents of the students, as they take their first steps in recognising the beauty and value of their natural environment and the need to protect it.