Bahrain students are being urged to take part in a competition designed to spread the green message.

The Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 was unveiled by Riffa Views Signature Estates at a Press conference held at the new Riffa Views International School last night.

The Challenge, launched for the first time last year, attracted 64 private and government schools.

The contest aims  to continue last year’s interaction with Bahrain’s younger members in providing them with a fun way of inspiring, educating and developing a deeper interest and understanding of their natural everyday surroundings, said Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views Signature Estates.

“When we created the Eden Challenge last year, we saw it as an innovative means of extending our involvement with the Bahrain International Garden Show to the island’s younger generation and providing them with a fun way of exploring the environment around them. To be honest, we were not quite sure of the reception it would get – to say that it surpassed all of our expectations would be a real understatement,” he said.

The central theme for the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show (RVBIGS) 2009, next April, is Water for Life.

The Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 is therefore designed to encourage children to consider the relevance and importance of water, organizers said.

All schools in Bahrain will be entitled to enter the contest with four different age categories – six to nine years; 10 to 12 years; 13 to 15 years; and 16 to 18 years. Each category will be asked to prepare and present projects based on the ‘water’ theme in a particular format – ranging from water sculptures or models for the junior primary schools, water mosaics for the primary schools, water mobiles for the intermediate schools and water conscious gardens for the secondary schools.

“The Eden Challenge plants the seed of the love of gardening and appreciation for nature and its resources in the hearts of our children. It is true to the spirit and aims of the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show (RVBIGS), and for that, we, as the Organising Committee of RVBIGS, are very grateful to Riffa Views,” said Shaikha Maram Bint Isa Al- Khalifa, head of the RVBIGS 2009 Committee.

Entries will be reviewed and discussed in detail by the same team of independent and experienced judges that awarded the Eden Challenge 2008 prizes – Shaikha Muneera Bint Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Zuhair Hameed Al Dullal, Matthew Rushton and its chairman, Chris Beardshaw, BBC’s “Flying Gardener” and Riffa Views International Ambassador, Landscape and Gardens.

“The standard of the entries for The Eden Challenge 2008 was tremendously high and the judging process extremely difficult.  All the entries demonstrated the importance and relevance gardens have on our personal enjoyment, family life, sustainability and, of course, the educational system. I fully expect the standard of the projects for 2009 to be just as high as last year so I think that the four of us will have our work cut out even more to decide who should get the top awards,” said Beardshaw.

The category winners will once again have the opportunity to see a real life version of their project created and displayed by Riffa Views Signature Estates as a major part of the Riffa Views Eden Challenge stand at the 2009 Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show. They will also claim a monetary prize of BD1,000 each. The overall winner which will be drawn from the four category winners will receive a further prize of BD3,000.

All schools that enter will receive recognition – an Eden Challenge ‘09 Participation Plaque for their school and a tree planted in their name by Riffa Views Signature Estates in a selected public park in Bahrain.

The Eden Challenge ’09 T-shirt and “The Eden Challenge Story Book” were unveiled at the event.

“The Eden Challenge Story Boo