2008 High School Essay Contest Winners

2008 Press Release
2008 Photos

2008 Topic

Many school districts on Long island are participating in the Open Space Stewardship Program, a school, community, and government partnership sponsored by Brookhaven national Laboratory's Office of Educational Programs. In many places, including Long Island, there is an on-going tension between those who want to preserve open space and the need to develop housing and the schools, gas stations, and the rest of the infrastructure that communities require. What are your thoughts on how these two positions can co-exist? Can you protect the environment and open space, and still be able to buy a house when you become an adult? How does science play a role in deciding how land is used?

Some areas of thought you may want (but are not required) to consider:

• BNL's work in the environmental sciences
• Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy's plan to buy open space
• The proposed Nassau Coliseum "Lighthouse" development
• NOAA's Land Cover Analysis
• The Open Space Stewardship Program

Special thanks go to the judges who volunteered their time to read the essays that were submitted.