Written by: Javed Razack, AAPG Trinidad & Tobago YP Chapter

Earth Science Week is an international event that helps grade school students and teachers understand Earth science and to be good stewards of the planet. Since 1998, the American Geosciences Institute has organized, publicized and provided materials for this grass roots effort, which depends on local geoscience and education groups to be successful. In 2016, AAPG volunteers in Latin America & Caribbean are working with local partners to take the initiative to schools throughout the region. Javed Razack, vice president of the AAPG Trinidad and Tobago Young Professionals Chapter, shares his experience with Earth Science Week in the following article.

In March 2016, the AAPG Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) YP Chapter held its first Earth Science Week (ESW). One of the AAPG’s core objectives is to advance the science of geology, especially as it relates to petroleum, subsurface fluids and mineral resources. As such, the primary goal of this initiative was to increase awareness of the geosciences and offer career guidance to secondary school students interested in beginning a career in any of the related fields. ESW was planned across the Latin American and Caribbean Region.

Between March 3 and 10, we visited three high schools: Presentation College Chaguanas (PCC), Naparima College and Hillview College. At PCC and Hillview, YP representatives, including alumni of each school, engaged students and teachers of forms 4 to 6 via presentations, talks and Q&A sessions. These classes were targeted as these students will soon be preparing to apply to universities.

At Naparima College, we had a booth at the school’s Career Guidance Seminar "Careers in a challenging economy". This seminar welcomed students from several secondary schools within the area, including San Fernando Central Secondary, Iere High School and San Fernando East Secondary. Several organizations and experts of varying backgrounds were invited to exhibit and provide guidance to all attendees.

The AAPG is pleased to have partnered with Petrotrin and jointly hosted a booth exhibition featuring careers in geoscience. Students got hands-on with rock samples from various formations in Trinidad, observing forams under microscopes and visualizing the subsurface with 3D seismic models. Both Petrotrin and AAPG provided lots of nifty giveaways, including brochures featuring the many career paths available through geoscience. A conscious effort was made to not focus solely on oil and gas, but also to speak about careers in mineral geology, volcanology, seismic research and hydrogeology.

We plan to follow up with many more sessions like these, in collaboration with different high schools and alumni. Engaging students in Tobago is also considered a priority.

Some readers may question the rationale behind promoting careers in oil and gas or the geosciences in these times of low oil prices, where jobs are scarce, especially for young professionals. However, these fields of study usually receive little attention and students often are quite uniformed about their options. Some of those interested in oil and gas may not be aware that there are other aspects to geology that can be pursued. Lastly, the period of low oil prices cannot be predicted with any accuracy. Further, these students would not be employable for at least 5 to 7 years, by which time the petroleum industry and the local economy could be in far better shape.

ESW 2016 was a resounding success, having reached several hundred students and dozens of teachers. We thank all the volunteers and their respective companies for facilitating their presence.