Israeli teen makes int’l environment reporting contest

Seventeen-year-old Koren Shayb wins the national level of the Young Reporters for the Environment contest.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
recycling 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
recycling 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
Seventeen-year-old Koren Shayb, who is a junior at the Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem, a boarding school for gifted students, won the national level of the Young Reporters for the Environment contest, which is independently organized in various countries across the world, and has now advanced to the international step of the competition.
Young Reporters for the Environment is a competition in which young participants worldwide produce articles and videos about burning environmental issues that exist within their living environment.
Shayb had submitted a video about a waste mountain located near her home in Ra’anana.
In the video, she explained that the waste mountain releases pollutants that then trickle down to ground waters. She also presented data she collected from surveying residents in Ra’anana, which revealed that although the majority of people in her city know about the waste mountain, they are not aware of it’s consequences on the environment.
“A lot of people are not aware of what happens to their garbage after they throw it away,” she told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. “The environment is something that always interested me, that’s why I did the video.”
Shayb said it took her a while to finish the project, between filming and school work, but she persisted. When choosing a subject, the waste mountain immediately came to her mind.
“From a young age, I often went on top of it, because I like the view from there,” she said. “It’s also a subject that always worried me. When I learned all of the information about it, I was a little bit in shock.
“I invested a lot in this video, so it feels good to be rewarded for it,” she added.
Shayb’s video has now entered the Young Reporters for the Environment’s international contest along with winners from about 20 other countries.