LIME Anguilla has undertaken to sponsor a special segment of the upcoming Science Fair of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School in the amount of US$849.00 US, the equivalent of EC$2,282.00, to finance the necessary research work and equipment.
LIME Anguilla’s Marketing Manager, Jade Reymond, said the donation was part of the LIME for Life Initiative in education. “We are very pleased to be part of this science fair and we look forward to continuing our relationship,” she stated.
Mr Winston Duncan, Education Officer responsible for science, said four fifth for students will be undertaking some under water activity to help to find solutions to some of the island’s marine problems. He said there was a need for additional sponsorship as students were coming up with grand and better ideas that would involve a lot more technical work. “I am hoping that this will be the first in a long line of relationships not only in terms of sponsorship, but also lending some of the expertise so that our students will not only be on par with the rest of the Caribbean but to go a step further. That is to be good to be good, but it is better to be best – and we are aiming for the best.”
Isabel Curtis, one of the students involved in the project, thanked LIME Anguilla for its sponsorship on behalf of the students and the Science Fair committee.
Another student, Jasmine Ruan, 16, who has distinguished herself as a certified diver, explained that the project requires a remote-controlled vehicle to be operated underwater by a number of divers including herself. “What we hope to do is to research or know more about our coral reefs and to see how they could be protected and, all in all, to learn more about Anguilla,” she said. The students hope to use the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources as a useful resource in their exploratory work.
Young Ms Ruan, who hails from Pond Ground, East End, has a diving record of about 90 feet. She underwent job training with the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources during the summer of this year and has a present and future interest in marine biology and research.
Mr Duncan, the Science Fair Coordinator, is looking forward to some long term benefits from the project. “If we can solicit some funding, maybe we can get our students to participate in a fair somewhere in the United States so that schools or professors can see what our students are doing,” he reasoned.
National Commercial Data Services (NCDS) is the overall sponsor of the Science Fair.
