PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Tomorrow, Saturday, March 18 – details at end of release
A prize-giving event for the University of Aberdeen’s Children's Eco-Art Competition will take place tomorrow (Saturday, March 18) at the Institution’s Town House.
The art competition ran over the month of February and judging took place earlier this week. The judges, Catherine Dishington, Community Waste Worker at Aberdeen City Council, and Neil Curtis, Senior Curator at Marischal Museum, had a tough time deciding between the many creative and colourful entries that were received.
Children were asked to submit an entry for a poster from one of four themes:
- Make new friends - car share!
- Afternoon energy slump? Eat more fruit, drink more water!
- Double sided photocopying. It's the new black, try it!
- Buy fairtrade: it's better for the environment, farmers and YOU!
University Management Trainee, Alison de Souza, who organised the art competition, said: “I would like to thank all the parents who encouraged their children to enter this competition and who have made the competition such a success, as well as all the children for their hard work and original entries - all of which are winners in my book!”
Finally, the judges chose winners from the three different age categories based on originality of design, authenticity of the child's input and suitability for adaptation into a poster to be displayed across the campus.
Finlay Morse, who attends the Rocking Horse Nursery, and whose father Jeremy Morse is Manager of the Clinical Skills Centre at Foresterhill, won the under 5's category for his colourful fruit and juice poster to encourage healthy eating.
The judges also selected Naima Ramanan's busy bee representing the 'productive buzz' that your daily quota of fresh fruit and vegetables can give you at work in the 5-9 age group category. Naima's mother, Ruth, is a Policy Advisor in the University's Policy Planning and Governance Department.
There was no disagreement about the winner in the 10-15 age group category. The judges clearly loved Friederike Maier's poster showing the 'Tree of Transformation' encouraging staff to choose double-sided photocopying to save trees and paper. Friederike's father is Professor Bernard Maier of the Department of Celtic Studies.
All three winners win a bike for their age category from the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative and winners will get to see sample bikes at a prize-giving event tomorrow (Saturday, March 18) at the University’s Townhouse.
The judges also picked out two entries for commendation. These were Alexander van Teijlingen's ‘Cycle and Recycle’ poster and Rebecca Eggeling's ‘Car Share’ poster. Alexander's father, Dr van Teijlingen, is a Reader in the Department of Public Health while Maggie Eggeling, Rebecca's mother is a Development Officer in the Centre for Lifelong Learning.
All of the competition entries will be displayed at the University’s Suss Out Sustainability Event to be held on March 21 between 12 and 2 pm in the King’s Conference Centre. Staff and students have been invited to attend the internal event and will have the chance to win a hamper of organic wine, enjoy some fair trade chocolate and coffee and hear all about what they can do to help the environment. They can browse the stalls and find out what impact their food choices have, how energy-efficient their home is and learn more about the Cycle to Work Scheme.
This special lunchtime event will include an inspiring keynote session about 'what the individual can do to make a difference' with experts Rector Robin Harper, John Forster of the Campus Sustainability Programme and Julie Stoneman of WWF Scotland. The talk begins at 12.30pm.
All the entries to the art competition will be displayed in the University’s MacRobert Building so they can be admired by staff and students.