WHERE Challenge 2008 - 2009 national and regional winners

Regional and national judging committees made up of dozens of Earth science professionals and educators from across Canada deliberated on the hundreds of entries received from all corners of the country - from Whitehorse, Yukon to Bedford, Nova Scotia. The 2008 - 2009 national, regional and school winners are as follows:

Judges say they were impressed with both the number and quality of entries, which included analyses of everything from pencils and light bulbs to sports equipment and mascara.

"We received a tremendous diversity of creative entries from all over the country making the judging process difficult" said Godfrey Nowlan, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada and WHERE Challenge judge. "We were delighted with entries from all age groups."

Dozens of school classrooms and hundreds of students participated in the 2008 - 2009 WHERE Challenge. Organizers of the contest hope it raises awareness about the importance of non-renewable Earth resources and also encourages young people to consider a career in the Earth sciences.

"The health of our sector depends upon young people entering the industry," said John Boyd, Canadian chair of International Year of Planet Earth. "If we can turn students on to Earth science at an early age, we hope to create the next generation of geologists and geo-physicists."