The Story of a Pencil - Thought-provoking video by Irish teens wins EPA competition

The video tells the story of a pencil, illustrating it's journey from a tree in Brazil to a compost bin in Ireland and everything in between. It was chosen from over 100 entries received from secondary school students across Ireland.

The Story of Your Stuff competition was created by the EPA and encourages students to conduct research on the environment and display it in a visual medium.

Students had access to an EPA web resoure to research information and were given help from campaign ambassador, photographer and music video director Christian Tierney who provided video-making tips.

Tierney and the other judges were clearly impressed with the winning video.

"The winning entry is amazing with some beautiful shots. The story is told in a very creative and inspiring way," commented Tierney.

The EPA’s Helen Bruen said:

"We were bowled over by the level of research, skill, time and effort that went into each project.

"From our point of view, each entry is a winner if the students who took part learned something from their experience that makes them think a little more carefully about the environment, consumption behaviours and about how to use and dispose of their stuff in a sustainable way."

Fellow judge and producer of RTÉ’s Eco Eye Marcus Stewart was also full of praise for the winning entry.

"The winning video demonstrated brilliant artistry and creativity in delivering the message that all the products we use, even something as simple as a pencil, are sourced from materials all over the world.

"The video promotes the idea that these items should be respected during their full life cycle and disposal."

All information about the winning video and those that were highly commended can be found on The Story of Stuff website.