A Pontypridd primary school has been named the outright UK winner of the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour community competition.
Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Evan James will lead the UK-wide Earth Hour in a few weeks time in celebration of their outstanding environmental achievements.
The Welsh medium school on Rhondda Road will be the first to switch off the lights for WWF’s Earth Hour to show they want to create a brighter future for the planet. Other iconic landmarks like Cardiff Castle and the Houses of Parliament will follow.
The primary school entered a short-story competition by WWF and Earth Hour 2012’s official partner More Than, offering communities the chance to lead the UK switch off and win a £1,000 grant towards organising a special event on the night.
The winning school will be organising a candlelit walk through Pontypridd, inviting other schools and businesses to join in to celebrate Earth Hour on March 31st.
WWF’s Earth Hour is a global phenomenon with hundreds of millions of people turning off their lights to show they want to create a brighter future for the planet. In 2011 a record 138 countries took part and this year WWF hope it will be better than ever.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Cllr Eudine Hanagan said, “I would like to congratulate the children and staff at Ysgol Evan James who are again a credit to the County Borough.
”We are very pleased that the school, which does so much to help improve the environment and campaign over eco-friendly issues, has been rewarded for their efforts in this way. It really is a great honour and we are all very proud of them.”
Ysgol Evan James has consistenly been championing enviroment activities, from revamping ther school yard using recycled materials such as wooden crates and tyres, to building a greenhouse out of re-used plastic bottles and using food waste to make their own compost.
Headteacher Moira Greaney said, “Winning WWF’s Earth Hour Community Competition is a fantastic result. We’re really proud of the work we do every day to teach children the importance of taking care of our planet and hope we’ll be able to inspire others in our local community and across the UK too.
”We’re all very excited about March 31st and looking forward to bringing the town together to celebrate with a candlelit walk”.
Head of WWF Cymru Anne Meikle said, “It’s wonderful that such a superb entry from Wales has won this UK-wide competition. We’re so impressed by the enthusiasm and creativity shown by Ysgol Evan James.
“WWF’s Earth Hour is about people coming together to celebrate our world, local communities and their passion for a brighter future, so Ysgol Evan James is the perfect community to lead the switch off.”
Photograph: Children at Ysgol Evan James celebrate the 60-minute switch off of lights
