AFTER having extended the competition deadline by three months, the environment ministry has now settled on a logo for its Climate Change Division.

The vibrant, colourful, yet sophisticated winning piece was designed by Green Pond High School student Dihanroy Mitchell.

It features solar panels neatly positioned on the letters CCD (the division’s acronymn), which is perched on a map of the island. The bright yellow sun shining behind the letters, and a single wind turbine, as well as people protruding from the letter ‘D’ as from a window, complete the picture.

Director of Projects, Practicum and Professional Development at Shortwood Teachers’ College, Dr Claudette Barrett-March, who was one of the judges, said the winning logo “represents the mandate of the Climate Change Division”.

“It has a global as well as national appeal. It is also very colourful and eye-catching,” she continued, lauding the logo’s ability to be used in a professional setting.

The other judges were Professor Anthony Chen, OM, Nobel prize-winning atmospheric physicist at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and Head of Physics at UWI, Mona, Professor Michael Taylor.

Twenty-five students from 13 schools at the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions across the island answered the call to design the division’s logo. Rounding out the top three were Sheena McLean, final year mass communication student of Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, and Jermaine Levene of Meadowbrook High in St Andrew.

Among the other institutions that entered were: May Day High School, which won a prize for having the most entries; Immaculate Conception High, Wolmer’s Boys’ School, and UWI.

The competition was launched in September last year and was open to young people under 24 years of age.

Dr Orville Grey, Senior Technical Officer of the Climate Division of the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, said the aim of the contest was to foster more youth awareness and participation in issues relating to climate change. Giving an overview of the process at the awards ceremony at the Forestry Department last Friday, Grey explained that the decision was taken to host the contest after various other avenues, including hiring professionals, were exhausted.

“We looked at various logos and the ones that were more eye-catching were designed by youth,” he explained, commenting that the professionals tended to be more guarded in their approach.

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Robert Pickersgill congratulated the participants and urged them to become ambassadors for climate change by setting good examples while sensitising their peers and parents about the dangers of climate change.

“You will inherit the world we leave behind and as such, it is imperative that you make your voices heard in any discussion about climate change at the local, regional and international levels,” he said. “Awareness about climate change has to begin right here, right now, with you and your peers across the length and breadth of this island,” he charged.

The slew of sponsored prizes won by the top three entries included: computer tablets from the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining; water tanks from the United Nations Development Programme and Echos Consulting Limited; starter accounts from both National Commercial Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC); as well as day passes to Urban Development Corporation attractions.

All participants received Climate Change Toolkits for Schools.

Other sponsors of the competition were the Forestry Department, National Water Commission, Water Resources Authority, National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Kier Construction, and Rural Water Supply Limited.

— Aldane Walters