JADE Edwards of Wilbert Stewart Basic School walked away with the first prize in the Jamaica Environment Trust’s (JET) local endemic bird costume competition for her Jamaican Woodpecker ensemble.

The costume competition was one of the many activities coordinated by JET under the theme “Birds in a Changing Climate”, in observance of this year’s Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF). The festival was held as part of the environmental lobby group’s Earth Day activities on April 20.

Second and third place went to Norliyah Lewis of Adastra Gardens Basic School and Deanna Whitely of Holy Childhood Prep School respectively. Norliyah modelled a Red-billed Streamertail/Doctor Bird costume, while Deanna modelled a Black-billed Parrot costume.

“We were ecstatic when we won, especially since we also won last year,” said Halima Jackson-Wilkins, a class three teacher at Wilbert Stewart, in a press release from JET. “Our school joined JET’s Schools’ Environment Programme (SEP) in 2005 and we have benefited greatly from it. The children are very excited to learn about our endemic birds and their habitats.”

Added Jackson-Wilkins: “I am also very proud of Adastra Gardens Basic, which placed second, as we have been working together since last year on developing lesson plans on birds for the classroom.”

Approximately 300 teachers and students from 34 schools in Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine attended the festival, which featured a range of activities, including:

. a simulated bird-watching trail and art and craft activities; as well as

. performances by the students and bird games.

The students were also privy to exhibits from a range of agencies, among them BirdLife Jamaica, the Forestry Department, Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust and the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The National Environment and Planning Agency, the Natural History Division of the Institute of Jamaica, United Nations Environment Programme, Windsor Research Centre, New Providence Primary, Green Energy Technologies Ltd and Earthbound also mounted exhibitions.

Teachers, meanwhile, were given curriculum infusion guides to help them introduce topics on birds to their classrooms.

The festival was coordinated by the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB), as Jamaica joined 17 other countries in participating in the annual event, staged every year between April 22 (Earth Day) and May 22 (International Biodiversity Day).

Sponsors for this year’s festival were the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB), the West Indian Whistling Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project, Jamaica Energy Partners, Green Energy Technologies Ltd, National Outdoor Advertising Ltd and the US Embassy. Juici Patties, Homestyle Juices, Consolidated Bakeries and Lan Integrators, Spike Industries, H D Hopwood & Co Ltd, Chippies Snacks, Yummy Bakery, Cable and Wireless Jamaica Ltd, Citigroup, FirstCaribbean International Bank, Earthbound, and Sandals Resorts International also contributed to the effort.