Seeds of awareness

A workshop for teachers hopes it will help educate schoolchildren about eco issues

Getting children to plant a tree in their name at school and starting a nursery is one way to introduce them to environmental issues, according to an environmentalist.

This approach has proved successful for Lebanon-based Middle East Centre for the Transfer of Appropriate Technology (MECTAT). The project has raised environmental awareness among children in Lebanon's schools, says Lama El-Awad, co-ordinator of MECTAT's environmental projects and activities.

She was in the capital recently to conduct a workshop for school teachers to help them set up environmental clubs in Abu Dhabi schools.

According to Lama, in a technology-driven age, it is necessary for children to be aware of the world around them. Planting trees has given them a sense of responsibility and increased their knowledge. It has also motivated the children to start nurseries in schools.

A spin-off from these school eco-clubs in Lebanon is the growing volunteer base, which helps environmental groups lobby an issue with the government, says Nessrine Nassereddine, an environment expert working as a research assistant with MECTAT's Environment & Development magazine.

Lebanon's environmentalists have been opposing moves to privatise beaches and setting up of leisure resorts, and the use of impure diesel, says Nessrine .

Their efforts have been paying dividends, however small. Environmentalist have convinced the government to designate certain areas as protected, including a beach in south Lebanon.

The school eco-clubs in Lebanon have also been engaged in other time-tested activities - debates, field trips, lectures, brochure designing, art and drama competitions - to create awareness in children.

Another successful project has involved students and administration of the American University in Beirut, says Lama. Garbage is collected in the university and separated according to recyclability, and then sold to a recycling company. The money gained from this deal is pumped back into the university's environment programmes, she adds.

A similar idea is being successfully implemented by eco-clubs in Lebanon. Waste generated by each student is collected in a nylon bag and subsquently dumped in an area. The student then monitors the items, and categorises them according to their biodegradability.

The process has also helped them realise the amount of waste generated by each student, she explains.

Moreover, these eco-clubs teach students how to reuse water from air-conditioners to irrigate plants in school. Students are also taught how to make compost and motivated to research environmental conservation subjects.

She, however, admits that lack of resources, scepticism among teachers and individual motivation are barriers faced by eco-clubs in Lebanon.

Says Lama, "We are often hampered by lack of money and will. Teachers in the Arab world feel making the children aware is not going to lead to a solution because they are global issues."
That's a huge mental block to overcome, she adds.

Recognising how important a teacher can be in propagating these ideas, MECTAT has been involved in motivating them through workshops - like the one in Abu Dhabi and advising them on setting up eco-clubs.

At the Cultural Foundation, these two environmentalists gave a demonstration of eco-friendly technology by cooking chicken in a solar oven for the 40 teachers attending the two-day workshop. Some food for thought.