AFTER placing third in the Cariri/Republic Bank Coding and Innovation's PowerUp! competition, Tobago student Lloyander Scotland says she is aiming for first place in the 2023 competition.
The competition was staged courtesy the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri) and Republic Bank Ltd. Scotland's project which was judged in the finals was about an early-warning system to aid in controlling the sargassum seaweed which has washed up along miles of Tobago's pristine beaches.
The 14-year-old is a Form Three student of Scarborough Secondary School and was Tobago’s lone finalist in the competition.
In July, students between the ages of 10-18 were invited to the programme which ran from August 2-30. There were three available tracks for students to choose from – coding and programming, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Following this, a competition aspect was introduced to ensure the students complete the programme, remain engaged to the end as well as get a good understanding of the concepts taught.
In the competition, students had to identify a problem in the environment – water, land and energy, the economy, the community they live or come up with a better way for people to communicate and socialise with each other.
Scotland, speaking at her Carnbee home on Wednesday, said: “I feel very proud of myself especially as the only Tobagonian (in the final).”
She said she had to present a five-minute video on her selected topic which focused on the sargassum seaweed early detection.
She said she was able to complete her presentation in approximately three weeks. Scotland initially registered for the programme in 2021, but was unable to participate as all spaces were filled. She applied again this year and was accepted.
[caption id="attachment_985309" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Sargassum seaweed ashore at Rockly Bay, Lambeau Tobago in April 2020. - File photo by Leeandro Noray[/caption]
“There were other Tobagonians in the first round, I wasn’t the only one, but I was the only Tobagonian selected as a finalist.”
The youngster said that in the past decade, sargassum seaweed has become an acute problem for several Caribbean countries as it washed up on shore and drastically alters or even destroys the ecosystem.
It has also been a problem for the tourism sector as the seaweed washes up on many beaches and as they dry out and decay, give off a terrible stench.
“The Caribbean would usually experience a few small mats of sargassum washing ashore in a given year. Until 2011, when the seaweed first began arriving in unexpectedly large waves. Similar pile-ups have occurred almost every year since – closing down hotels and beaches,” she said.
She recalled that in 2015, the Tobago House Of Assembly (THA) spent approximately $3million in clean-up and recovery exercises, adding that the assembly currently spends approximately $1 million annually in recuperation and rehabilitation.
But what is her solution?
