Closing date for the 1998/99 Esso Schools' Wildlife Challenge is Friday, March 26th. This is a 32-county curriculum-based competition which encourages primary school children to explore their local environment as well as taking an active interest in its improvement.
The competition, now in its seventh year, is sponsored by Esso Ireland and Esso UK in association with BirdWatch Ireland and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Northern Ireland. Its theme is Through the Tree's Eyes. There are two levels, one for individuals and one for groups or classes. The individual challenge is to write and illustrate a postcard campaigning for the planting of more trees. The group challenge is to compile three front pages of a local environmental newsletter dated March 1989, March 1999 and March 2009 - this level is open to fourth, fifth and sixth classes in the Republic and primary 5, 6 and 7 in Northern Ireland.
This year's prizes include a camcorder, an especially commissioned wildlife painting and native Irish trees and shrubs. Schools can get information packs and posters from: Esso Schools' Wildlife Challenge, 22 Merrion Sq., Dublin 2 - phone (01) 661 4055.
UCC's web award
The website for UCC`s undergraduate prospectus, which has just received a fourstar rating award from Telecom Eireann, is at http://www.uccie/ucc/academic/ugprosp/ index.htm/ The site was created by Sinead Horgan of UCC and the award is the maximum that any academic entry has received.
Film competition
A film competition sponsored by Bus Eireann for second-level students to promote safe travel to and from school was launched last week by Minister of State Willie O'Dea. The winners will have their video produced by a professional company, win a trip to Disneyland Paris and their school will get £1,000 worth of video equipment. Closing date for entries is 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 4th. Phone (01) 475 7885 for more information.
Phone number
The organisers of Limerick's Fresh Film Festival, who are also running a film competition for young people, tell us that their phone/fax number is (061) 319555 - not (061) 319666 as they told us before. Closing date for films is Friday, March 26th.
Open days
DIT's engineering faculty will run open days on next Thursday and Friday for Transition Year, fifth-and sixth-year students. There will be lab demonstrations, tours of facilities and talks by graduates. For information, phone Margaret Kilmartin at (01) 402 3653.
Whitehall Senior College, Dublin, will hold an open day on Wednesday, March 3rd, between 1.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m.
