Call for Entries for National Wildlife Federation’s Young Reporters for the Environment USA Competition
Reston, Va. (PRWEB) October 21, 2013 -- The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the U.S. host of the international Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) program, announces a call for entries for the Young Reporters for the Environment USA (YRE USA) competition. Youth between the ages of 13 and 21 are invited to enter by March 15, 2014, at: http://www.yre-usa.org/join.
Young people may enter as individuals or as part of a class or group. Participants investigate an environmental issue and report on it in writing, photography, or video. Entries are due by March 15, 2014, and must be relevant to participants’ local community, connect to a global perspective, include possible solutions, and be disseminated to an appropriate target audience.
Last year’s first place video winner, Zachary Korff, had this to say about his experience with YRE USA, “The YRE contest is more than a competition. The YRE competition is a way for you to positively impact the environment, help people understand your viewpoint on an issue, and to have fun. One of the best things that I figured out was that the only limit to what you can do is what you can think of. I would recommend this competition to anyone who thinks that they see a problem in the environment that needs to be solved.”
For a blog post about Zachary, please go to: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/06/q-a-with-student-winner-of-young-reporters-competition/#sthash.foDgSnzO.dpuf.
“This program engages and encourages students to pursue STEM fields of study thus paving the way for them to have careers in these important areas of science, technology, engineering and math,” said Laura Hickey, senior director of Eco-Schools USA and YRE USA. “We face an urgent need to prepare our students to be able to compete globally in the 21st century and YRE USA does just that,” added Hickey.
Students that participate in the program investigate a local environmental problem or issue, and propose solutions. They document their work and report on it through a journalistic production targeting a local audience. These journalistic efforts can be through the creation of an article, a photograph, a photographic essay, or a video which is then shared with a local audience through a variety of media.
“The YRE USA program provides students and teachers with an engaging, authentic way to develop crucial STEM skills while exploring an issue relevant to their personal interests,” said Kate Hofmann, coordinator, YRE USA. “The program incorporates investigative journalism, technology, media, and inquiry-based science, all contributing to real-world communication skills along with scientific and technological literacy,” added Hofmann.
Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) is an international program that engages youth in environmental journalism in more than 25 countries. In the United States, YRE is hosted by the National Wildlife Federation and open to students between the ages of 13 and 21. The program is coordinated by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) worldwide. For more information, please go to: http://www.yre-usa.org.
For more National Wildlife Federation news, visit: http://www.nwf.org/news.
National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization, inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.
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Christina Batcheler, National Wildlife Federation, http://www.nwf.org/, 703-438-6098, [email protected]
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