Presentations to Judges

Begin to prepare your presentation to judges by bringing together project photos and garden information. Decide how you would like to showcase your work. Your photos could be displayed on a bulletin board, included within a scrap book, incorporated within a power point presentation or used in the context of a computer programme that takes photos and turns them into films (e.g. iMovie, Photo Movie Maker).

Your presentation to judges can be creative, and can incorporate extracts from the public event, i.e. dressing the Eco Tribe in costumes or re-enacting a portion of the public celebration. Tidy Towns members are welcome to meet the judges and contribute their own experiences of the project. The inter-generational aspect of the project (working with teachers, parents, and Tidy Towns members) is an important aspect of the Eco Tribes endeavour. Children learn a great deal about the social history, folklore, and nature of their village through spending time with their elders. These experiences can be included in your conversations with judges.

It is also useful to collect quotations from children, parents, Tidy Towns members and community members watching and taking part in your public event. These quotations are useful for your presentation to judges, and they can also be included in a press release. The public event is a media event, so include a newspaper photographer at your event or take pictures for the local newspaper. Members of the Eco Tribe can help prepare the press release. Newspapers will always ask about the purpose of the event, noteworthy information about the project, and use quotes from participants.

Finally, the presentation to judges should emphasis the environmental awareness gained from the project by the children taking part. The Eco Tribe garden benefits bees and butterflies, and in this context contributes to the local biodiversity of a community landscape. The children can also share what they have learned about gardening with nature, composting, etc. This may have been the first time many Eco Tribe children have designed a garden from scratch, and their experiences will be of interest to the judges.