NEWS RELEASE                              MAY 28, 2002

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS WEEK, JUNE 1-9, 2002

National Environmental Awareness Week will be observed from Saturday, June 1- Sunday, June 9, 2002 under the theme “Give Earth A Chance”.  The theme coincides with World Environment Day, June 5, and World Oceans Day, June 8 celebrated by United Nations member countries.  The objective of the Week is to focus public attention on environmental issues in order to increase awareness and stimulate action at the local level.

Several activities have been organised by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to mark the Week.

The Week gets underway on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 with a call for churches across the island to incorporate environmental messages into their respective church services.  This collaboration between the church and the environment is lead by NEPA’s Faith and the Environment Programme, which was recently launched on Earth Day, April 22.  There will also be a Special Church Service to be held at the Eastwood Park New Testament Church of God, 51 Eastwood Park Road at 10:30 a.m.

On Monday, June 3, Jamaican children will enjoy an island wide Grand Story-Telling Day for Children.  This story-telling exercise will expose as many Jamaican children as possible to environmental issues through environmental stories written especially for them.  The stories will be provided by the staff of NEPA and other agencies and will be read to individual children or groups of children especially those in schools, children’s homes and hospitals.  NEPA encourages anyone who is interested in getting involved in this activity to contact the NEPA staff for the stories as they can be shared with children on an ongoing basis.

At 6:00 p.m. on World Environment Day, Wednesday, June 5, the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Grand Jamaican Suite will come alive with an array of environmental talent when NEPA puts on a grand environmental concert. 

The island’s biggest biennial Environmental Exhibition, Green Expo 2002, kicks off on Friday, June 7 and runs until Sunday, June 9.

Other activities to mark the Week include; environmental exhibitions in parish libraries islandwide and panel discussions.  The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is urging the public to support and participate in the various activities taking place during the Week.