NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (JULY 07, 2022) — Three students grabbed the top positions among 11 students of the Cecele Browne Integrated School (CBIS) who participated in the Ministry of Tourism’s Exposition Nevis 2022 Environmental Poster Contest. The theme was “Keep Nevis Clean.”

At a brief prize giving ceremony held at the school recently, Hildreth Tross captured the top spot followed by Jaquoiya Francis in second place and Kijaunte Hobson in third.

The top three winners and the school were presented with gifts and certificates of appreciation by Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis and Minister of Tourism. The gifts included school supplies from the ministry; and platinum sponsor Latitude Seventeen, a development consultants and project construction management company, managed by Martha Isbister.

Each of the 11 participants received a $100 gift card from Latitude Seventeen. They were encouraged to include art supplies when shopping with the gift card, as they continue to develop their art skills.

In brief remarks, Premier Brantley congratulated the students and staff while registering his satisfaction with the students’ skills.

“I am so happy to be here at this institution of learning to congratulate all of you youngsters for the fantastic job that you’ve done… Let me congratulate your principal and the entire staff and all of the students for the incredible job that you have been doing. You have always been at the epicentre of these types of activities and we’re really proud.

“When I look at what you’ve produced here – the creativity, the thinking that went into it and of course for you, the posters that you’ve created, I really do think that Nevis is on good hands. So I want to thank all of you,” he said.

Mr. Brantley told the students that protecting the environment on Nevis was of critical importance to all residents and visitors alike.

“Protecting the environment is important to all of us. A clean and healthy Nevis means that we have a clean and healthy environment. It means that we live healthier lives.

“It is important to us in tourism because clearly, people come to our island and we want our island to be clean. We want our island to be healthy. Part of that is controlling what we do in terms of garbage disposal, also ensuring that we recycle; we reduce the amount of garbage that we generate; we reduce the amount of plastics that we generate, and I thought that this theme for this event was very timely,” he said.

Mr. Brantley who is also the Minister of Education noted that Exposition Nevis is an annual activity hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, and expressed his pleasure that the school which is a critical part of what they do, was a part of the activity after a two-year hiatus.

Other remarks were made by Ms. Vanessa Webbe, Tourism Education Officer and Ms. Lydia Lawrence, Senior Clerk at the Ministry of Tourism; and Mrs. Jennifer Liburd, teacher at CBIS.