NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 23, 2019) — The Department of Community Development in partnership with the St. James’ Fun Lovers Group and the Department of Education, through the Violet O. Jeffers-Nicholls (VOJN) Primary School, launched its second Recycled Christmas Ornament Contest during the school’s assembly on October 23, 2019.
Ms. Nicole Liburd, a member of the Fun Lovers Group and coordinator of the contest, described the competition as a volunteer initiative, designed to get more persons from the Combermere area involved in community activities.
“We wanted to get more persons involved in the Christmas tree lighting in December, and in environmental issues and we came up with the idea in 2018 to host a Recycled Ornament Contest.
“It was quite good. We only targeted Grade 3-6 at VOJN and we had about 12 to 15 participants… The purpose of this contest is to educate students from an early age about the need to reduce, reuse and recycle -3 Rs- and encourage creativity… This is the second year of the initiative and the plan is to expand the initiative to other communities in 2020,” she said.
This year the material chosen for creating the ornaments is tin or tin cans. They must also be an outdoor ornament and waterproof. They should be no more than 5”x 5” in size and they must be lightweight enough to be hung on a tree.
The materials used cannot pose a safety hazard to the creator or those enjoying the ornament, and the use of sharp, toxic or easily breakable materials are off limits also.
Each student can submit two entries. The deadline for submission is December 04 at the Department of Community Development.
Last year the material selected were created from wood, tin, styrofoam and plastic.
Ms. Liburd noted that the students are not being restricted by any expense.
“Garbage is free; it levels the playing field. Students would only be limited by their imaginations and the guidelines for size etc. All ornaments produced will be showcased on the community tree at Newcastle,” she said.
The contest coordinator noted that the group believes that the contest is significant and meaningful.
“We feel this type of contest has significant merit, bringing to mind the simplicity and traditions shared in many Nevisian homes at Christmas time,” she said.
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