Art contest promotes respect for environment

BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK – More than 700 entries were received by the Conservation Department of the North Brunswick Woman’s Club in a contest designed to promote the importance of recycling and conservation in the community.

“Everyone needs to understand the importance of taking care of the environment. If we start with the little ones, we can introduce concepts and ideas so that they understand their surroundings. As they grow older, taking care of the environment will become as natural as downloading music to their iPod or MP3,” conservation Chairwoman Sheldene Millington said of the first-time contest available to all students of the school district.

“As educators, as parents and as leaders, one of our main responsibilities is to make sure we leave behind a generation that respects the environment and protects our resources,” she added.

Held throughout the month of April to commemorate Earth Day, which was April 22, the award winners were recognized at the Board of Education office on May 16.

For the grades one through five coloring contest, the winners were Thea Sinclair, of Livingston Park Elementary School, and Stephanie Vasquez and Mosam Naik, of Parsons Elementary School. For the grades six through eight poster contest, the winners were Samantha Vogelsong, Igor Montpere and Alice Huang, of Linwood Middle School. For the grades nine through 12 essay contest, the winners were Kelly Schnier, Huang Yan Zlong and Reshma Joseph, of the North Brunswick Township High School.

“The quality of work received from the schools was extremely high. The presentations showed a great deal of thought and energy from participants,” Millington said. “Our children are very knowledgeable on the issues and what is expected. Their work showed a high level of maturity on the subject.”

In addition, the Woman’s Club also participated in the Adopt-A-Road program earlier this month. The organization helped clean Finnegans Lane from Route 1 to Route 27 and plans to revisit the area in the fall. The club is also planning to plant flowers around town and plant a tree in commemoration of Sept. 11.

“We hope in the coming years to have activities that continue to expose our children to conservation and recycling in our community. As we teach our children to read, write and study for the SATs, we want to teach them to conserve the water and to turn off the lights at home. As we pass on houses, land and investments to our children, we want to also pass on a town that is free from contaminated soil, a town with clean drinking water and wide open spaces,” Millington said.