Press Releases
U.S. Embassy Commemorates Earth Day and Recognizes Croatia's Globe Science Program
EMBASSY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Public Affairs Section
Zagreb, Croatia
U.S. EMBASSY COMMEMORATES EARTH DAY AND RECOGNIZES CROATIA'S GLOBE SCIENCE PROGRAM
Zagreb, Croatia, April 19, 2007 -- The U.S. Embassy is hosting an Earth Day commemoration and awards ceremony for the winners of an embassy-sponsored nature photo contest at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at the American Corner of the Bogdan Ogrizovic library, Preradoviceva 5, Zagreb.
Ambassador Robert Bradtke will address students in the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) program who participated in the photo contest as well as their teachers, parents and representatives from the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Development.
Twenty-seven students submitted photos for the contest, "GLOBE Expedition: Nature Exposed." The winners are Natali Kolega, Osnovna škola "Valentin Klarin", Preko (first place); Hana Kadria, Osnovna škola "Rikard Katalinić Jeretov", Opatija (second place); Dora Kralik, Osnovna škola "Antuna Mihanovića", Osijek (third place) and Mateja Bubnjar, Osnovna škola "Bedekovčina" (honorable mention).
The photo contest, "Globe Expedition: Nature Exposed," was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to recognize and show support for Croatia's successful GLOBE program. Five judges from the US Embassy chose the top four photos. Prizes include GLOBE equipment worth a total of $500.
GLOBE is a school-based science program supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Departments of State and Education. Students around the world collect data with the guidance of their GLOBE-trained teachers in the areas of Atmosphere, Hydrology, Soil, Land Cover/Biology and Phenology (study of breeding, flowering and migration related to climate). These data are entered into the GLOBE database as well as used in student research. These data become part of a database to be used by students, teachers and scientists around the world. The GLOBE database currently contains over 16 million entries. Currently 109 countries participate in GLOBE, with more than 19,000 schools and 37,000 teachers. In Croatia 99 schools are registered under the GLOBE program.