The Bermuda National Trust, together with sponsor Marshall Diel & Myers, celebrated Earth Day by listening to the voices of our children at the student video competition prize-giving for primary, middle and senior school students.

Prizes were awarded to 50 students who submitted 19 videos. The overall winner and first prize in the primary category went to Saltus Grammar School students Jessica Bucher, Celena Presti and Courtney Rego for their video about invasive species, Taking Over Bermuda.

Jasmine Colmet, Alia Peets and Skylar Trott of Bermuda High School won first prize in the middle school category for their animated video, Invasive Species, while Rakaja Simmons and Jahstice Trott of CedarBridge Academy won first prize in the senior school category for their video about the Bermuda National Trust’s nature reserves, Beautiful Bermuda.

The videos focused on a variety of topics relating to the environment, such as green power, invasive species, the meaning of Earth Day, development versus environment and the Bermuda National Trust nature reserves.

Saltus students Christian Ebbin, Graham Moss, Magnus Ringsted and Cole Summers used drone footage and interviews to explain photovoltaic cells and to highlight the importance of switching to solar power.

Rachel Hyland of Saltus showed the beauty of Bermuda’s plants through many photos and offered ideas on how to protect endangered animals.

In the video Earth Day News, Harley Kempe-Brown, Jaime Procter and Leahnae Morton-Richardson from BHS acted as television presenters to convey their message, while the video The Meaning of Earth Day by Aalyah Fadda and Layla Kurt showcased the pressure the human population places on the environment of our planet.

The Bermuda National Trust encourages people to view the fine works by our youth by visiting www.bnt.bm. The films will also be aired on CITV.

We hope these productions will spark lively discussion and change habits towards a greener and healthier Bermuda.

Each student team will also be playing their part by planting a Bermuda olivewood tree, which was presented to them for entering the competition.

Alma Dismont, of Marshall Diel & Myers Ltd, said: “Marshall Diel & Myers Ltd was the proud sponsor of the Bermuda National Trust’s competition for students to produce a video in relation to the environment. The videos created showed a huge amount of dedication of time, creativity and commitment to promoting and protecting the environment.

“It is so inspiring to see so many young people making such an invaluable contribution to the community. The children are, after all, the future of Bermuda.”