Palau Conservation Society, Koror, Palau- On November 15, 2016, SPREP (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme) announced the winners of The Invasive School Challenge Contest. The school challenge is for elementary, high schools and colleges from all over the Pacific to join a competition that enabled students to describe, draw, take photos and demonstrate their knowledge and prevention of invasive species in their islands.  There were 8 activities which grade levels were assigned to particular activity to work on. In Palau, students from Palau High School, Mindszenty High School and Maris Stella School were able to join.

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Congratulations to the group of 6 students from the 7th grade class of Maris Stella School for winning the 2nd place in the “Bump It Up” challenge. The aim of this challenge was to help students learn about different invasive species and the different ways of how they can prevent their spread. In order to learn they were to create a colorful bumper sticker with a clear message so that when people see it, they will know what they can do to help stop the spread of invasive species. The prize was $500 which goes directly to the school. The names of the students are Janty Watanabe, Aleeya Urazin, Theola Obechou Kumangai, Renged Akiwo, Julia Chioko Polloi and Maycen Sato.
The other winners are Lefaga College of Samoa which won 1st Place winning $800, and Tiyan High School in Guam for 3rd Place winning $300.
There were consolation prizes of $200 each awarded to Vaitele Uta Primary School of Samoa and Houma Primary School in the Vava’u Islands of Tonga. “The entries before the judges for review was amazing,” said Mr. David Moverley, the Invasive Species Adviser of SPREP. Thank you to all the participants. Please follow the link below to find out the results.
http://www.sprep.org/biodiversity-ecosystems-management/regional-invasive-species-schools-challenge-winners-announced [[/restrict]