MARIGOT--Organisers overcame adversity by managing to bring some 6-700 school children from both sides of the island to Thursday's 2nd Enviro- Symposium despite an early cloudburst of heavy rain that threatened to cancel the event.
Even after the rain had stopped large pools of standing water remained under foot in the main exhibition tent at the Sandy Ground Cultural Center. It was not the best of conditions but the many parties of school children with teachers arriving and leaving throughout the morning were unfazed by the inconvenience of the water.
The lion's share of attendees was taken up by bus loads of school children, however, members of the public defying the weather were also seen perusing the stands. The theme of the event this year was The Forest. Among the 30 odd exhibitors were several newcomers. Lecturers for the event included two ladies from Conservatoire du Littoral who came over from France especially.
One of the dignitaries present was President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell who took a keen interest in the symposium.
Opening remarks were made by Vice-President Pierre Aliotti, President of Sint Maarten Pride Foundation Jadira Veen, Romeo Chilin from Green Spaces, and two representatives from the Conservatoire. Nicole Piper also gave a presentation on sorting.
Event coordinator Nicole Piper called the symposium a success despite the weather.
"When you have rain, and you still get a high level of attendance, you know it's been a success," she declared to this newspaper.
Fortunately the lectures and power point presentations took place as scheduled with the designated speakers, however, Piper was forced to cancel the trade expo because of flooded stands. Students were also put in one room instead of two rooms as originally planned.
"Most of the materials would have been lost so it made sense to conserve those materials, and re-schedule for another time," Piper explained. "These were the businesses who were selling eco-friendly products. The more people that buy these products the better chance we have of preserving the environment."
Asked if she would consider a new venue next year given the growth of the event, she said; "The advantage of the Cultural Center here is that you have rooms already adapted for what we want to do. On the other hand we now know what impact the rain has. The Omnisports Hall is one consideration but we have a year to think about that."
The event closed with Pride Foundation presenting T-shirts as tokens of appreciation to Vice-President Pierre Aliotti, Romeo Chilin, Romain Renoux from R�serve Naturelle, and Nicole Piper for extending the invitation to the Dutch side.
"I considered the symposium a success in the sense the kids learnt something," remarked Jadira Veen afterwards. "It's an educational forum for them and they enjoyed it. We would also like to commend the President of Parliament for being present. She showed interest in this environmental forum and that sets a good example for the Dutch side students."
"It's wonderful the Collectivit� invites the Dutch side to this kind of educational event. It's a great partnership that fosters cooperation and friendship."
Piper gave a big thank you to Sint Maarten Pride Foundation for its involvement in the event, and for bringing the Dutch side schools. She also thanked her superiors and dedicated helpers, in particular Ricardo Bethel, Cleo Harrigan, and Romeo Chilin who cooperated with all the pre-media radio broadcasts.
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