Students have the right stuff for competition

A PROJECT that creatively explores the life cycle of toothbrushes has won an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) competition. 

The video entry by Shurooq Azam, Aldiana Hoxha, Kar Cong Leong and Tomi Ayibiowu, students of Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School, Dublin 15, for ‘The Story of Your Stuff 2019’ competition examines the history and manufacturing process of toothbrushes, explores the environmental impact of improper disposal and highlights eco-friendly alternatives. 

Ms Azam, Ms Hoxha, Mr Cong Leong and Ms Ayibiowu received €500 for themselves and €500 for their school.

The winner of this year’s competition was announced at the inaugural national finale event at UCD which brought together the five finalists, their classes and their teachers.

Alex Sullivan and Aoife McLaughlin, from Sutton Park School, with their project, ‘The Story of T-shirts’, were among the top five shortlisted entries. 

Now in its third year, ‘The Story of Your Stuff’ challenges second-level students to investigate the life cycle of an item they use every day. They are asked to use their artistic talents to visually tell the environmental story of that item. This year’s competition entrants looked at the story of items such as pizza boxes, straws, mobile phones and deodorant. They creatively told these through mediums such as stop motion video, animation, hand-drawn storyboard, PowerPoint and infographics.

Dr Jonathan Derham of the EPA and chair of the judging panel, said: “We want to extend our thanks and congratulations to all the students who entered ‘The Story of Your Stuff’. 

“The quality and creativity of the entries shone through the various formats and made it very difficult for us to narrow it down to a top five.

“The EPA was delighted to see a record number of entries from students across the country – 143 submissions from 60 schools.”

To view the winning and shortlisted entries, visit www.thestoryofyourstuff.ie.