Our planet is under threat from global warming, pollution and many more man-made environmental hazards. Today, Edge is throwing down a challenge to 13- to 17- year olds to tackle this issue through its new schools competition, Ice Edge. Individuals or teams of students must come up with an idea to protect the environment and compete to win the amazing prize - a once in a lifetime trip to the Arctic!
The purpose of the competition is to engage students in a fun, creative task that will test their ability to problem solve, innovate and work as a team.
Ice Edge will demonstrate to young people the ever-increasing importance of vocational careers to our environment, whether it be in the UK or in particularly delicate environments like the Arctic. The way we use water, electricity and fossil-based fuels such as petrol and diesel will be influenced by those who really understand water systems, electricity and the way in which vehicles work, amongst many other factors. People in vocational careers will actually be doing something about the environment through their everyday work, rather than just talking about what could be done. They will be installing and connecting, for example, solar panels, systems that use less water in houses and adapting or maintaining current and new types of vehicles so that emissions are reduced to an absolute minimum.
Ice Edge will start young people thinking about practical solutions for reducing damage to our world, and help them understand how this will add excitement to the vocational careers that they might consider following into the future. Going to the Arctic, as a fabulous goal for all entrants, will bring to life just what a delicate balance currently exists between a world where we can enjoy our environment or one which we will soon start to see even bigger signs that we are destroying it.
To find out more, visit Ice Edge.
Ice Edge follows the success of Edge into Space, Edge's inaugural schools competition last year. Edge into Space challenged students in school years 9 to 12, or 13- to 17-year-olds, to invent gadgets for use in outer space. The prize was an experience to treasure: thirty-five winners from all over the UK spent summer 2006 working with astronauts, rocket engineers and space scientists at NASA space centres in the USA. More than 4000 young people entered the competition and it attracted massive media attention. To find out more click on the 'Edge into Space' button in the Activities menu on the left.