නීල – Team 06 – Lumos

Project නීල was an initiative organized by Team Lumos under RotaTomorrow 4.0 competition. There were two main phases under this project where Phase 01 was a Photography Contest named “Jala Ruu” and Phase 02 was a Lagoon Clean-up.

The Jala Ruu Photography Contest was open for submission on 27^th of February 2024, inviting new and experienced photographers to share their unique perspectives through the lens. Being an open category competition, we received 74 responses. Circulating to the community via social media helped spread the word, leading to a significant increase in enthusiasm. A panel of judges was formed to evaluate the submitted photographs.  They considered factors such as creativity, composition, and relevance to the theme of “Jala Ruu”. The board listed the most popular and best photographs based on the public’s online votes and judges’ scores. The Photography Contest Winners were announced on the 18^th of March 2024. The Most Popular Photograph title was won by Akshya Thevaraja, and the Best Photograph title was won by L. R. P. Perera.

The purpose of the lagoon cleaning phase was to create awareness about environmental conservation.  By involving the community in this initiative, we hoped to develop responsibility and pride in maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment. Lagoon cleaning took place on the 8th of March 2024.  The team worked together with NARA environmental organization in a successful and well-coordinated manner.

The cleanup took place at the beautiful Negombo Lagoon, where team members and volunteers gathered at the meeting point.  The group consisted of 20 enthusiastic participants. Community response to the lagoon cleanup was overwhelmingly positive.  Participants and spectators appreciated the efforts put in by the organizers and community members.  Through this event, the message of environmental conservation and the importance of community participation was further spread.