An Earth Day contest brings student honors

Juliette Markesano and Pavly Zaky placed in the top 10 among 207 videos submitted by fifth- through eighth-grade students in PSEG’s Earth Day Video PSA Contest on April 22. The public service announcement project was a win for their Woodland Middle School science teacher, Karen Alonge, too, who described herself as an environmental advocate.

“I love everything about Earth Day and am a big advocate of protecting the environment any way we can,” Alonge said. “This program allowed me to show my students that little daily changes … can make a positive impact. I am very proud of the time and amazing effort both Pavly and Juliette put into their videos.”

Alonge attributed some of the students’ enthusiasm to the opportunity to express themselves without using pen and paper. And they were allowed to work on the project with another student if they chose to, which wasn’t possible at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The format, a video, helped me to motivate them and get them excited,” she said. “The PSA gave them an opportunity to do something different and creative.”

Allison Fullam, a Woodland sixth-grade science teacher, introduced the PSEG program to the school for consideration. “I brought it to the chair of the department in person, because it gives children ownership to be aware of environmental issues,” Fullam said. “It was an opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves and [to be] taught how to use our renewable resources better. The children were surprised that they could make a difference, and wanted to get the word out.”

She added that even though none of her students won, they enjoyed making the PSAs and learning about energy conservation.

Teachers submitted their three favorite videos from each class. Alonge, who teaches three classes, submitted nine videos. Three of her students’ creations were judged among the top 35, with Juliette and Pavly’s video in the top 10.

Pavly, 11, who lives in East Meadow, said he had fun creating his PSA, “Lilly Knows LED’s,” in recognition of Earth Day. “I enjoyed the editing and learning about the small things we can do to protect the environment,” he said. “Doing this, I learned that by doing small things around the house, we can help the environment.”

Every time he leaves a light on when he’s not in the room, his family tells him to turn it off, he said, because he’s wasting energy. His PSA features Lilly the talking dog asking why the lights are on with no one in the room, and reminding a boy that energy is being wasted.

Then Lilly asks why LED lights aren’t being used. The boy first asks the obvious, “You can talk?” Lilly sounds a bit impatient when she answers that she can, then she asks the boy if he was listening. After assuring her dog that he was, he adds that he’s been learning about the importance of energy conservation in school.

Juliette, 11, who also lives in East Meadow, said she, too, enjoyed editing her PSA, entitled, “5 Easy Ways to Save Money.”

“I loved filming everything in the video, too,” she said. “My parents talk about the importance of protecting the environment. I learned a lot of stuff, one being ways you can save energy, water and how to stop pollution.”

Her video not only explained different ways to save energy, but also what will be gained by doing so. When Juliette suggests that lights and fans be turned off when no one is in the room, she adds that money as well as energy will be saved. And by turning off the water while you brush your teeth, you’ll save 1,000 gallons of water per year.

Woodland students took part in PSEG’s “I AM EM-Powered Program and Student Challenge.” The program, created for PSEG by educational consultant D. Barrett Associates, offers science, technology, engineering and math-related coursework on energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Nearly 4,500 students on Long Island and in the Rockaways followed a curriculum tailored for classroom and virtual learning as well as hybrid combinations. This is the first year that PSEG sponsored the program and contest.

Suzanne Brienza, PSEG Long Island’s director of customer experience and utility marketing, co-hosted a Zoom event on Earth Day in which the 10 winning videos were shown. “It was so exciting to see these award-winning videos and to announce the 10 winners,” she said. “The students’ messages of protecting our oceans, conserving electricity and using energy-efficient light bulbs are lessons for all of us.”

Juliette and Pavly said that they try to follow Earth Day’s message, to conserve energy every day. “I don’t remember if I’ve ever done a beach cleanup on Earth Day,” Juliette said, “but I have done a bunch of stuff to help our environment.”

Pavly said he had participated in a beach cleanup in the past. “Every Earth Day, I help my mom plant fruits and vegetables in my mom´s garden,” he added.

Alonge, a first-year full-time teacher at Woodland, said that Pavly is an excellent student, with an average of 100 in her class. “He is very intelligent,” she said, “and enthusiastic.”

Juliette is also an excellent student, Alonge added. “She is very motivated and great to have in my class,” she said. “Her PSA stuck out. I felt like she didn’t seem shy in front of the camera, and I liked her color coordination — her red lipstick and pink background in the room. The colors made the video more esthetically pleasing, her graphics were great and she had awesome information.”

Taking part in the contest and learning about how they could pitch in to help make a better world is important, Fullam said. “It’s been a weird year for our students,” she said. “This gave them a different way to present themselves. And it gave them a common goal, to make the environment and the world a little bit better.”