Five investigative journalism videos and articles on environmental issues submitted by Maltese secondary and post-secondary students in the international Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) competition recently won some of the top three places in the contest’s various categories.
A video entitled ‘Heaven at Chadwick Lakes’ by Grace Ann Muscat from St Margaret College Girls’ Secondary School, Żejtun, won first place in the video category for students aged 11 to 14.
Another video, entitled ‘Mammals in concrete cages’ by David Ellul, Jean Claude Schembri, Johann Camilleri, Joseph Degabriele, Roderik Baldacchino and Tonio Farrugia from Żejtun parish eco centre, won first place in the 19 to 21 age category.
An article entitled ‘Are there pockets in a shroud?’ by Georgie Zahra and Nicolas Attard from San Anton School, Mġarr, won second place in the articles category for students aged 15 to 18.
A video entitled ‘The two-wheeled solution: the bicycle’ by Steve Zammit Lupi from Junior College, Msida, won third place in the video category for students aged 15 to 18.
An article entitled ‘Where has the ‘peace’ gone?’ by Caroline Vassallo and Marta Cachia from St Joseph School, Sliema, won third place in the articles category for students aged 11 to 14.
There were over 100 submissions from 19 countries in the contest. The judges included representatives from the Foundation for Environmental Education executive board, Unesco, the UN Environment Programme, the European Environment Agency, the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University, Sweden, The Times (UK) newspaper and Wrigley for Litter Less campaign.
The YRE programme is represented locally by Nature Trust (Malta).
To view the entries and for more information on the YRE programme, visit www.yremalta.org or e-mail national coordinator Audrey Gauci at yre@naturetrustmalta.org.