About 300 students are expected to spread messages gleaned from the movie The Lorax among their friends and family after viewing the film today.

The students, drawn from the Wesley Hall Infants School, Holy Innocents, St. Christopher and St. Bartholomew’s Primary schools, watched the 90-minute film today at the Olympus Theatre, hosted by the Ministry of the Environment and Drainage.

Environment Officer, Kim Downes Agard, explained that the movie looked at the impact of the removal of trees on the environment, and also spoke to the removal of biodiversity and its impacts on air quality.

She added that the movie demonstrated practical examples of the relationship between biodiversity, particularly trees, and a healthy environment.

She said students had been invited to watch the movie in celebration of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought which was celebrated on June 17, under the theme: Healthy Soil Sustains Your Life: Let’s Go Land-Degradation Neutral.

At the end of the movie, the Environmental Officer said she intended to quiz the students on what they had seen to ensure that they took the right message back to their respective schools.

"From working with children in the past, I have found that they really listen. They remember the messages well, and if we can have an impact on these 300, then they would in turn take it back to their schools," she said.

However, she noted that the Ministry was working with schools who wanted to start environmental clubs. "Once you set up a programme, there are officers in the Ministry who are willing to work with you. They are willing to give assistance when they can," she said.

Ms. Downes Agard noted that this partnership with schools could be extended to include educational material or officers from the Ministry giving talks with groups on topics and issues related to the environment.

julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb

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