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home > Environment - Water A Precious Resource
Environmental problems related to water have been widely recognised as the most immediate and serious threats to humankind. At a global scale these include the risk presented by rising sea levels as a result of global warming and the degradation of fish stocks in the world's oceans. At a more regional and national scale these problems include the availability of freshwater and the degradation of inland and costal ecosystems.
Obviously water is a crucially important component to the Gipsy Moth IV project - without it this famous yacht would still be in a dry dock! In support of the drive to obtain reliable data on the health world's oceans the Gipsy Moth IV crews are undertaking an ongoing program of oceanographic research in conjunction with The University of Plymouth.
UKSA also has a strong heritage of environmental awarenes and recently won Silver in the Commerce and Industry Category for Waste Management, sponsored by the Chartered Institue of Waste Management, at the 11th annual Green Apple Awards that is now established as one of the biggest environmental awards schemes in the world. |
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Schools Competition - Voice of the Planet
The Gipsy Moth IV project has joined forces with one of its Global Partners, BT, to establish a competition called 'Voice of the Planet' for Primary and Secondary Schools focused on the subject of 'Water - a precious resource'. The aim of the project is to encourage children of all ages to think about water and the environment. Entrants to the competition are required to make a five minute photo-movie, using one of the BT Education Program’s newest resources Assignment: Photo-movie, to explore the theme of water. You could pick up on a global/international aspect relating to water, or a more national/local issue of which you are aware. |
Click here for BT Education Home Page |
What's involved?
The task is to make a five minute photo-movie programme that explores the theme of water.
Photo-movies are a great new way to use digital technology to communicate ideas creatively and effectively. While they’re simple to make, photo-movies look great and offer young people a powerful way to get their messages across.
Since photo-movies are made with images created by a digital camera or scanner rather than a video camera, they can be created by virtually anyone, for virtually nothing. They look great too, thanks to special software which gives the images a movie-like appearance by simulating camera moves and editing effects.
An important part of a photo-movie is the narration, which is recorded on a PC using an inexpensive plug-in microphone. Creating an effective narration means thinking about communicating ideas clearly and concisely through a combination of the right words and an appropriate style of spoken delivery.
Theme
You can use your photo-movie to explore a global/international issue relating to water, or focus on a more national/local topic. If possible, we’d like you to refer to the Gipsy Moth voyage. You may want to use some of the technology links available via the Gipsy Moth website to contact the crew and ask them specific questions, or you may wish to use some of the photos gathered during this incredible voyage. You can send questions to the Gipsy MOth IV project by email to gminfo@uksa.org
Picking the Winners
The judges will be looking for a combination of environmental messages and presentation style. The winner will be announced when the Gipsy Moth IV reaches Sydney in July 2006 by the Chairman of BT, Sir Christopher Bland.
Prizes
- Primary: 10 young people plus teacher/group leader at the UKSA for a week.
- Secondary: 10 young people plus teacher/group leader for a week, with the best student being selected for a leg on Gipsy Moth.
- CBBC Newsround will show the winning photo-movie clip on its website, and perhaps on Newsround itself.
How to enter
Send your entry by June 28, 2006, on a CD to BT Education Programme 'Voice of the Planet' Competition, c/o Dialogics, 249-251 Kensal Road, London W10 5DB.
Please include your email address and a written explanation of how you set about the project. We’ll be looking for evidence of research and discussion with others. Click here for the competition's Terms & Conditions.
Check out Assignment: Photo-movie
Photo-movies can be produced as a team effort or as a solo enterprise. They are simple enough to be made by key stage 2 pupils, yet offer enough creative potential to be a rewarding experience at key stage 4.
To find out everything you need to know about making a photo-movie, just click here to start the cctivity. This will take you to a mini-website containing everything you need to know in order to make your photo-movie. It includes a link to a free downloadable programme from Microsoft called Photo Story (requires Windows XP), which is ideal for the job. You can download and install the software in a couple of minutes. And though it’s packed with clever features, Photo Story is extremely easy to learn.
The only extra thing you might need is a microphone. The cheapest solution is a standard USB microphone, costing around £15.
The site contains tutorials about every aspect of production, from writing the script, assembling the images and imposing special effects to recording the narration and laying down the music track.
To help get you started we have put together some key facts and figures and a list of external links to really useful web sites.
Water Facts and Figures
To get your research started we have pulled together some facts and images relating to water as a precious resource. These have been divided between Freshwater Resources and Marine/Coastal Resources.
External Links
We have also gathered together a number of links to other web sites that deal with issues concerning water and the environment. Click Here to access these links.
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