CIWEM'S Youth Water Prize Winner to compete in international final

Katie Forbes of Kincorth Academy in Aberdeen will visit Stockholm to present the winning project of 2011 Tomorrow's Water, CIWEM's Youth Water Prize, to the jury of the international competition at World Water Week in Stockholm.

Tomorrow's Water is a national competition open to young people between 15 and 20 years of age, who have conducted water-related projects focusing on local, regional, national or global topics of environmental, scientific, social or technological importance. Over 30 countries host the national competition, with the winners of each going on to compete at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize held during World Water Week in Stockholm.  World Water Week is the leading annual meeting for international discussion of the planet's most urgent water-related issues.

The competing Junior Water Prize projects will be displayed at the World Water Week exhibition hall and each finalist will be interviewed by a jury of international water experts. HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden will formally present the prize to the winning national team on 23 August at the prize ceremony in Stockholm.

Tomorrow's Water gives participants the opportunity to compete with some of the brightest young British scientists in one of the most exciting environmental and educational activities in the UK. This year six projects of an extremely high standard were presented by schools from across the country in a final that was hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PWC) at their London offices.

Katie Forbes, from Kincorth Academy, emerged as the winner for her study of the efficiency of plankton nets used for sampling and her discovery and resolution of technical difficulties, which may call into question the accuracy of sampling data.  Lawrence Whatley, from Thomas Hardye School in Dorset, received the Highly Commended award for his project on cryptic biodiversity of wet fens, which led him to discover a species not previously found in the UK.

Katie Forbes said after the UK final: 'During the day, I felt an ever-growing sense of anticipation as the judges came round to ask us questions and learn more about our work. The most tense and frankly nerve shredding part of the day was the wait during the judges' deliberation session. All the projects were to a high calibre and I am honoured that I was chosen as the overall winner. This competition has been a massive boost to my confidence and career aspirations.'

Supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Yorkshire Water, Tomorrow's Water brings environmental education to the heart of the national system and the participants will undoubtedly become the new generation of water ambassadors, developing personal interests, undertaking academic study, and often pursuing careers in water or environmental fields.

CIWEM director of membership and international development, Paul Horton said: 'Tomorrow's Water brings together the UK's brightest young people to encourage their interest in water and the environment, and our entrants submit inspiring and innovative solutions to pressing environmental problems. Better environmental education is the key to a sustainable future and is a vital charitable aim of CIWEM, so we are very proud to congratulate Katie on an excellent project. As part of our environmental education initiative, we hope to encourage even more youngsters with environmental talents from around the UK to test their skills and initiative in the competition in 2012.'

Judge and past president of CIWEM, Alastair Moseley, said: 'In 2009 during my year as president of CIWEM, I set an objective for CIWEM to drive greater engagement between our profession and the environmental education that children receive in school. CIWEM's Tomorrow's Water prize is the embodiment of this vision and I was proud to be a member of the judging panel and to see the high quality of the water projects that were presented to us. Katie Forbes' project was outstanding and it was heartening to see someone so young tackling the serious issue of maintaining fish stocks in such a mature and scientifically astute way.'