The Environmental and Gardening Club of Athens College Elementary School won 1st place in the National Photography Competition, organized by the international network “New Environmental Journalists.”  Winners from each age group in the National Competition will compete in the “New Environmental Journalists”   International Competition. 

Schools that participate in the network sent their entries to the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature where they were evaluated by the Network Coordination Committee.  The evaluation criteria were the same as those of the international competition as announced annually by the Network’s International Coordinator: the criteria concern form, structure and quality of the entry, how it focuses on a local environmental issue, the research that took place and the dissemination of information to the local community. 

Our School’s entry was a photograph showing members of the Environmental and Gardening Club throwing scraps from fruits eaten by students in the cafeteria into the School’s compost bins. 

By way of this photo, which will be “food for action,” the Club’s students wanted to show that using compost bins to recycle food waste is a solution to multiple environmental problems.  Their viewpoint demonstrates their respect for the environment.  Starting from the microcosm of our School, they took fruit peels and produced compost – a natural plant fertilizer, and then used it to grow plants in the School’s garden.  Hence, they call upon all of us to join this common effort to make our cities sustainable.