Yesterday, April 22, was Earth Day. Guyana, together with 192 other countries around the world, celebrated this international observance. Among the activities to celebrate Earth Day in Guyana, were a tree planting exercise organised by the Department of Environment (DoE), Ministry of the Presidency and a “March for Science” organised by the Iwokrama Centre for Rainforest Conservation. Both of these activities aimed to raise awareness of the theme of Earth Day: “Environmental and Climate Literacy.”

The EPA organised an Earth Day Jeopardy Competition involving nine secondary schools from Regions Three, Four and 10. Two rounds of the competition have been completed and the

winners of each round will compete in the finals on April 28 at the National Centre for Educational Research and Development (NCERD). It would be fun and may the best team win!

Answer to last week’s questions
Last week we shared five questions from the Earth Day Jeopardy semi-finals. How did you do? Here are the correct responses underlined:

1. Use sunlight to eliminate some light bulbs. It’s free!
2. Expel up to 7 gallons of water after each use of an (old fashioned) toilet.
3. More frequent and intense storms, increased temperatures, rising sea levels, floods and drought are some impacts of climate change.
4. The Blue Whale is the largest animal that ever existed.
5. The mosquito is the most dangerous species in the world.
Here are some additional categories and clues from the semi-finals of Earth Day Jeopardy.

Category: Keep Your Waste Line in Line
1. Reduce your waste – buy products enclosed in less of this (plastics, paper, aluminum etc.)
2. Composting is also referred to as nature’s way of practicing this “R”.

Category: Biodiversity
1. The natural home of an animal or plant.
2. A plant or animal that is not native to a particular area and competes with native species.
3. Trees do this to reduce global warming.

Category: Walk the Walk (Things we should be doing for the environment)
1. The colour of environmentally friendly actions.
2. Save your business this amount for not littering in a public place.

Category: It Wasn’t Me (Things we try to blame on something or somebody else!)
1. This problem is worse when drains are clogged with trash but people blame it on the rain.
2. If this utility bill is too high we blame the VAT instead of our own failure to turn off the lights.
3. These chemicals can be blamed for the reduction of pollinators in and around farms.

Category: Up and About (travel-related)
1. This two-wheeler burns fat and saves you money.
2. This practice involving different persons choosing to ride together in one vehicle can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Category: Feeling Hot Hot! Hot! (about Climate Change)
1. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, water vapour and ozone fall in this group for their ability to trap heat.
2. The year the most catastrophic flooding occurred in Guyana’s history.
3. A term meaning changes caused by human activity.

Category: Rivers
1. This river runs through 7 South American countries, and is home to piranhas and anacondas.
2. This African river, the longest in the world, runs through 10 countries, including Egypt and Ethiopia.
3. Rivers can be found in outer space; the moon of this ringed planet has a river of methane.

Category: Mineral Wealth
1. Finer than gravel, coarser than silt, used in glass making and building construction.
2. If it wasn’t for me, no aluminum for you.

Category: Protected Areas
1. The first national park in Guyana.
2. 360,000 hectares of protected land located in the middle of Guyana.
How did you do? See the answers below (don’t peek until you’ve tried to answer them all!) In Jeopardy, the students answered in the form of a question, but to save space just the answers are listed here.

Earth Day Jeopardy is fun, but hopefully everyone will also learn more about our environment, our country and our world. Look back over the clues and see how many small changes we all can make in our lifestyles that will add up to big benefits for ourselves and the environment in the long term. Remember everyone, has a role to play in the protection of the Earth. The Earth is our home, let’s cherish and care for it, poor environmental practices will only lead to our detriment.

For further information contact EPA, Environmental Communication, Education and Awareness Programme at 225-5471-2/225-5467-9 ext. 235 and like our facebook page, Environmental Protection Agency Guyana or email us at eit.epaguyana@gmail.com. If you would like to have educational programmes in your school, organisation or community, do not hesitate to give us a call and let us share how you can help.