A PLAYWORKER with a passion for the environment has reached the finals of Miss Earth England. Mariam Turay, 20, who works at the Hayward Adventure Playground, in Market Road, Holloway, is hoping her mix of beauty, brains, eco-awareness and social conscien

A PLAYWORKER with a passion for the environment has reached the finals of Miss Earth England.

Mariam Turay, 20, who works at the Hayward Adventure Playground, in Market Road, Holloway, is hoping her mix of beauty, brains, eco-awareness and social conscience will dazzle the judges.

She said: "I've been volunteering with a charity called Global Generation for four years. We've got a skip garden in King's Cross where we grow fresh produce and deliver it to local residents.

"We also do lots of work in schools but we're always looking for funding so when we found this competition, they persuaded me to enter and now I've been chosen as a grand finalist.

"It is a beauty pageant but you don't wear bikinis. One of the rounds is a green round where I have to get pictures of me doing environmental work, and another is an eco-design thing where you have to make your own oufit out of recycled stuff.

"I'm going to use willow from Hampstead Heath and some stuff we grow in the skip garden to make a Georgian dress."

Miss Turay lives in Harrington Square, Mornington Crescent, with her mum and brother and will be competing as Miss Earth Camden.

Two years ago she was highly commended in the Young Environmentalist of the Year category at the Archant London Environmental Awards, while her charity Global Generation scooped Best Environmental Project.

She works with special needs children and is hoping all the work she does with local people will win her some votes.

"I have to go to Blackpool for the Miss Earth England finals on September 11," she said. "I am hoping to win the People's Choice award which is extremely important to me, as every time I get a vote 10p goes to Global Generation to fund our projects."

To vote for Miss Turay text Miss Earth Camden to 81118 or call 0901 293 7972 29 from a landline, Voting close at 6.30pm on Saturday.

You can also donate money directly to Global Generation by visiting www.justgiving.com/MissEarthCamden