The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with support from the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP), is organising awareness creation competition on climatic change for Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Upper East Region. As part of the programme, the EPA at the weekend organised a quiz competition on climate change among students of the Bolgatanga Senior High, Bolgatanga Girls Senior, Bolgatanga Technical Institute and Zamstech Senior High schools.

Similar programmes were organised last month by the EPA for students of Notre Dame Seminary School, Navrongo Senior High School and Our Ladies of Lourdes in the Kassena-Nankana East District. 

The Upper East Regional Director of the EPA, Mrs Zenabu Wasai-King, expressed her happiness about the schools’ turnout in all the events and their performance stressing “this is an indication of hope for the ailing environment”.

“I am so happy about the performances of the students. In my assessment of the contestants’ knowledge about climate change per the questions posed by the quizmaster, I’m so impressed and there is hope for the future,” she said.

She entreated the students to be ambassadors of climate change campaign and said; “We have only one earth. Years ago, the environment wasn’t like this. Today, we’re bearing the consequences of the actions of those who lived before us.

That is why we’ve organized this quiz for you to be aware of the severe consequences of climate change and desertification, which might even take a worse twist for future generations. You’ve been educated. Spread the message. Encourage everyone you find to grow trees, and be the example first.” 

Mrs Wasai King said the GEMP was also providing alternative livelihoods support to the less privileged in communities in the region so as to take them off activities that degraded the environment.

The EPA, she noted, had the intention to increase the 30 school-based environmental clubs already formed in some schools in the region to protect the environment and said many schools were showing appreciable response to the call to combat drought and desertification as they frequently troop to the regional office of the EPA in Bolgatanga for seedlings.

She mentioned that out of the 100 seedlings which were given to the Tempane Senior High School, only six died and noted that the Bolgatanga Senior High, the Zamsetec Senior High, Navrongo Senior High, and Bolgatanga Girls Senior High schools were also doing well.

The Zamsetech Senior High School emerged the overall winner followed by Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School. Bolgatanga Technical Institute came third and Bolgatanga Senior High School came fourth.

The schools were presented with books and water cans among others things.

Source: GNA

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