Sitnews -Stories in the News - Ketchikan, Alaska

To Celebrate Earth Day, DEC Announces Student/Teacher Contest
Winners Will Attend Youth Watershed Summit in Maryland

April 22, 2002
Monday - 9:00 pm

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Michele Brown today announced a contest for Alaska high school students and teachers to attend a national Youth Watershed Summit this October. Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (a program of the National Wildlife Federation), Alaska Green Star, and the Anchorage Waterways Council joined DEC for the announcement.

Alaska will send four students and one teacher to the symposium. Transportation, food, and lodging will be provided by America's Clean Water Foundation, which is hosting the symposium with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the federal government. Approximately 200 students and 50 teachers from across the nation will attend a series of educational sessions on watershed protection, tentatively scheduled for
October 6 - 10, 2002 at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland. The Alaska team will work together on a watershed project to present at the symposium.

"Fifty-two of the fifty-eight polluted waterbodies in Alaska are polluted by run-off or erosion, said Commissioner Brown. "As our communities grow, run-off from roads, parking lots, construction activities, landfills, failing septic systems, and streamside recreation also grows. Our daily actions impact water quality. Improper disposal of motor oil in the US
equals the equivalent of 15 Exxon Valdez spills yearly and a single quart of it can contaminate up to a million gallons of drinking water."

"Communities and individuals have to be informed and involved in watershed planning so they can make the right choices to protect our streams, lakes, and rivers. There's no better way to jump start community involvement in watershed protection than by engaging students and educators."

Alaska Youth for Environmental Action member Jessica Lazar said, "Clean drinking water is already a novelty in many areas of the world. The most important thing we must do to ensure our own vitality, and that of future generations is to maintain the purity of our watersheds. Therefore, I am thrilled that Alaskan youth will have this opportunity to discuss and learn with young people from all over the nation how we can best take action to keep our water clean."

The student contest calls for an essay of 350-500 words on sharing information from the watershed symposium with their communities. Teachers may apply or be nominated by their schools, students, or community members. The contest is open to any Alaska high school teacher and any Alaska student who will be in 9-12th grade in the fall. Applicants must commit to working on the project, either in person or by e-mail, during the summer and fall if selected.

Applications are due by June 1, 2002. Students and teachers may apply as a team or individually. ADEC may create a team from students in separate communities. Semi-finalists will be selected by a judging committee of one educator, one Alaska Youth for Environmental Action high school senior, two Department of Environmental Conservation employees, and one U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee. Commissioner Brown will select the winners.

For more information, please contact Charles Fedullo at 907-269-3784 or charles_fedullo@envircon.state.ak.us.