Voting for the “How Green Are You?” Video Contest has begun and will be open until March 23. Organizers Sheila Blagrave, Lesley Johnson, and Matt Sheridan-Jonah were pleased to receive eight unique submissions after having extended the deadline.

“Video contests often don’t receive a high number of entries due to the time and effort it takes to enter,” said Johnson, Marketing coordinator at Mount Allison. “We are fortunate that our community tends to be active and engaged, and we not only received a good number of entries, but we also received quality submissions.”

The contest was aimed primarily at prospective students, but was also meant to engage current students and alumni, as well as the general public. There are two submissions from Ontario high school environmental groups. International submissions came from alumni in China, and Japan, while another came from a future Mt. A student in India. Jonathan ‘Scooter’ Clark, Mt. A alumnus and owner of the Pub, also submitted a film. The other two entries were from two groups of current Mt. A students.

Since this is the year of the environment for Mt. A, Sheridan-Jonah, Johnson and Blagrave decided to make the contest environmentally themed.

“We’ve been trying to do a range of different things that would appeal to prospective students as well as getting the message out about what makes Mt. A unique,” explained Sheridan-Jonah. “And one of the things that […] we’ve found is that students [who] are often attracted to Mt. A are interested in environmental issues and are politically aware. We’re trying to do things that would resonate with those students.”

Four winners will be announced on March 25: three podium places, and one in the high school group category. Winners will receive a cash prize and a matching donation to the environmental charity of their choice. The top youth submission will also be entered in the 8th Viewfinders: International Film Festival for Youth, based in Atlantic Canada.

“For the last two years we’ve bought advertising space at the Viewfinders Festival […] and showed some of the Mt.-A-produced videos,” explained Sheridan-Jonah. “And that’s why for this year we wanted to show some of those videos. They were kind of new and something different.”

Indeed, the submissions were all very different.

Therapy, produced by Neil Bonner, is a comedy about a therapist who makes it his mission to help mistreated plants.

Mount Allison Students Thinking Green, produced by Brody Ellis, Devon Forshner, Jennifer Elkin, Amy Lynn Ellis, and Amanda MacDonald, is a film about the day in the life of a Mount Allison student and actions that can be taken to help the environment.

I’m NOT a dumbbell!, produced by Alisha Merchant, future Mt. A student from India, considers the effect that a workout regime has on the environment when using electrical equipment.

How Green are YOU?, produced by Laura Salisbury & Greg Ayling from Frontenac Secondary School in Kingston Ontario, is a humorous tale of how a recycling system was implemented at their school.

Norwell Green Video for MTA, produced by a high school environmental club in Palmerston Ontario, is a creative compilation of all the actions that the group has taken.

The Okinawa Dugong, Save the Dugong, produced by Mt. A alumn Mio Yamane, is a mixed-media animation that illustrates the Dugong’s importance to Japan and surrounding areas.

Jonathan 'Scooter' Clark - 2009 Biography describes Scooter’s own environmental actions in his professional and personal life.

Green in China, produced by Shuai Li, is a panoramic view of the deforestation and pollution that are taking place in and around the student’s hometown.

It has not yet been decided whether the contest will run next year, or whether the theme will be environmental. The group is flexible and might change the contest theme if the University President announces one that would translate to film.

But the response has been encouraging, said Johnson.

“It may well be something that could build up momentum. Also, active engagement with audiences is a popular form of marketing these days!”