Abu Dhabi, April 30th, 2007 (WAM) -- In an effort to promote environmentalappreciation and showcase the hard work of students in the Emirate ofAbu Dhabi, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) is displaying theartwork, photographs, 3-D models, posters and research papers submittedby the students during EAD's Environmental Competition for the academicyear 2006/2007.

The exhibition, which was inagurated on Sunday, is open to the publicand is being held in Al Nakheel Hall in the Cultural Foundation - AbuDhabi Cultural and Heritage Authority until May 2, 2007.

The competition, which was launched on October 14th of last year to coincidewith Arab Environment Day, was opened to students of Government and Privateschools within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This Competition is sponsoredby Shell Abu Dhabi and is organized in coordination with the UAE Ministryof Education.

The theme for this year's competition is "Deserts and Desertification",while the slogan: "Don't Desert the Dry Lands" emphasizes the importanceof protecting drylands, which cover more than 40% of the planet's landarea.

About 132 government and private schools from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and WesternRegion Educational Zones participated in the competition and total numberof entries submitted reached 931, as schools ran an inter-school competitionand then submitted the best three entries, from each category, to EAD.

Kindergarten students submitted around 110 drawings under the theme the"Beautiful Desert", while primary schools submitted 350 paintings underthe theme "Life in the Desert", while upper primary schools submitted158 short stories on the "Desert through the eyes of plants and animals".

Intermediate schools submitted 54 3D-models made of recycled material.

They were asked to create a model on "Combating Desertification". Secondaryschools submitted 30 beautifully designed posters carrying an environmentalmessage that they wanted to pass to the public on "Endangered Desert".

Moreover, high schools students submitted 22 research papers, which werea result of their assessment on the extent of public awareness about "AbuDhabi's desert and its problems".

An independent panel of judges oversaw the competition and they includedexperts from Abu Dhabi Cultural and Heritage Authority Abu Dhabi EducationalZone, Abu Dhabi Municipality, Emirates Heritage Club, Abu Dhabi Companyfor Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), Abu Dhabi Fertilizer Industries Coand Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi.

The first three positions in each category will be awarded prizes in anaward ceremony that will be held in the Cultural Foundation on April 30,2007.