Three-day Environmental Expo at AMP next week

In celebration of Environmental Awareness Month this April, the Division of Environmental Quality is hosting the Environmental Expo at the American Memorial Park on April 17 to 19, from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

The three-day expo will feature booths and exhibits set up by government agencies, nonprofit and private organizations to educate students on various programs and environmental efforts.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the expo, which targets 4th and 5th grade students from public and private schools on island.

“The goal is to bring together private and public agencies to exhibit their programs and engage students in activities focused on environmental issues affecting the health and beauty of the island,” said DEQ environmental engineer Emanuel Borja, who also serves as the Environmental Awareness Month committee chair.

The theme for the monthlong celebration is, “My Air, Your Land, Their Sea, Our Environment.”

“The objective of Environmental Awareness Month is to remind the people of the CNMI that we are all key players in protecting the environment, and [our theme] emphasizes the shared aspect of the environment,” Borja told Saipan Tribune.

The expo, Borja said, is among the several events they plan to conduct to encourage public awareness of environmental issues, public participation in cleaning the environment, and public education on how the government works to protect the environment.

Other events include a tree planting, a fashion show, islandwide cleanup, and a film festival.

Borja noted that they invited various health groups on island to participate in the expo.

“Although it is environmentally focused, we believe that healthy minds promote a healthy environment,” he said.

Exhibitors for the 2012 Environmental Expo are the CNMI Marine Monitoring Team; DEQ’s Wastewater, Earthmoving, and Erosion Control, Water Quality Lab, Pesticides and Storage Tanks, Safe Drinking Water, and Toxic Waste Management; Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Enforcement and Brown Tree Snake programs; Department of Land and Natural Resources Sea Turtle Program; U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service; Public Works’ Energy Division and Adopt a Highway program; Youth Environmental Ambassadors; Historic Preservation Office; Northern Marianas College – Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service; Public Safety Fire Division; Tan Holdings; Mariana Islands Nature Alliance; Pacific Marine Resources Institute; Saipan Seventh-Day Adventist; Asia-Pacific Academy of Sciences, Science Education, and Environmental Management; Commonwealth Health Center’s Non-Communicable Disease Bureau; Eco Island Development, and L50.

“Upon exiting the expo, students will also be able to write their ‘Wish for the Environment’ on a wish banner and also answer questions on flipcharts related to the presentations that were exhibited,” added Borja.

The community is invited to check out the Environmental Expo next week. For more information, call DEQ at 664-8500.