Children lent their voices to the message of conservation and environmental protection at the Green Carpet Awards 2013.
Held on 6 July 2013 at the Nanyang Polytechnic Auditorium, the Green Carpet Awards ceremony follows a competition conducted between January and May this year involving more than 5,000 primary and secondary school children from 40 schools taking to nature trails around Singapore.
Armed with Nikon DSLR cameras, the children took photographs of nature and prepared short essays capturing their perspectives on the photographs they had taken.
Commenting on the entries received, Dr Francis Downey, Vice President of National Geographic Learning, who served on the international judging panel for the Awards said, “The Green Carpet Awards provides the youth with a platform to express their creativity and teach us how they see the natural world, as well as to inspire all of us to care for our planet.”
Members of the Teck Ghee Primary School Choir performing at the Green Carpet Awards
Winners of the Green Carpet Awards 2013
The Overall Prize for the Green Carpet Awards went to Darren Lee from Pasir Ris Secondary School for his photograph of a butterfly. The judges felt that his photograph reflected a call to action for people to conserve the environment.
Other winners at the Awards were Nur Siti Aisyah Binte Mazli from APSN Tanglin School who received the Merit Award, Tibor Adam Kovas from Blangah Rise Primary School who won the Best Journalistic Award (Age 7-10), Yee Yu Hung Jarod from Canberra Primary School for the Best Photographic Award (Age 7-10), Goh Jing Yong Darryl from Clementi Town Secondary School for the Best Journalistic Awards (Age 11-15) and Khin Rati San from Xishan Primary School in the Best Photographic Award (Age 11-15) category.
Winners of the Green Carpet Awards 2013
Upon receiving the award on stage, Primary 4 student, Tibor, summed up the mood of all the winners when he expressed that he was “very excited and very happy”. He went on to share the important message that “we should conserve and preserve; and stop polluting the environment for a better world.”
The winners were chosen from a group of 20 shortlisted nominees. The photo-essays of all 20 nominees will go on display at The Canopy, Gardens by the Bay on 13 and 14 July 2013, with the nominees leading tours around the Secret Life of Trees at World of Plants from 4.00 pm to 6.30 pm.
21 schools were also recognised with the Green School Award. This was handed out to schools that have participated in the Green Carpet Award for more than one year and have gone on to teach about environmental conservation to their students. These included Ang Mo Kio Primary School, Compassvale Primary School, Methodist Girls’ School (Primary), and River Valley Primary School among others.
The Green Carpet Awards 2013 was sponsored by Nikon Singapore, SembCorp, SingPost and DHL Singapore. It was also supported by National Parks Board, Nanyang Polytechnic, LASALLE School of the Arts and Gardens By The Bay.
