COMMUNITY OUTREACH will be the focus of this year's Earth Day activities, which will be held on April 22 under the theme 'Water For Life'. The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will also commemorate the first anniversary of its launch as an executive agency, which coincides with this event.
In a release, NEPA said that activities will include an open day, incorporating a prayer ceremony and a lunch-hour concert, all to be held at 9 Caledonia Avenue, Kingston 5, adjacent to NEPA's offices.
The open day, running from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., will also feature exhibits showing NEPA's work and is part of the agency's thrust to increase public participation in the process of sustainable management of key natural resources and build awareness of its work.
Other members of the environmental community will also join in the celebrations. The Negril Environmental Protection Trust (NEPT) is having an Earth Day exhibition at the Negril Community Centre, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The International School of Jamaica (ISJA) will have its second annual Earth Day Exposition on May 2 at Palmers Park in Port Maria, St. Mary.
BETTER WATER PROGRAMMES
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government agencies and schools participating in the Jamaica Environment Trust's (JET) Schools' Environment Programme (SEP) will mount exhibits on various aspects of the environment.
In addition, the Ridge to Reef Project, in association with the Great River Watershed Management Committee (GRWMC), will launch the Green Village and River Action with the Action Boyz programmes. The programme aims to garner communities' support for better and clean water programmes leading to greater public involvement in environmental issues beyond clean water.
The Ridge to Reef project will also give hints of its larger environmental awareness campaign, entitled 'It Affi Legal Iyah' on Earth Day. The goals of the campaign are to inform people of some of the major environmental laws in Jamaica, why they are important, what the repercussions for breaking these laws are and how they protect Jamaicans' rights. The 'It Affi Legal Iyah' campaign will officially be launched on World Environmental Day on June 5.
