Learning to care for the environment

The Enviro-Spellathon, now in its third year, hopes to make children nature savvy


It's meant to make young minds pause and appreciate the world around them; to make them more environment-savvy by teaching them nature-related words and concepts. For example, the tree in their school compound is called the ghaf and it was a source of food for camels in the past. The geographical area they live in, is home to birds like the houbara and sea animals like the dugong.

That is the essence of Enviro-Spellathon, an extra-curricular educational programme, which caught the imagination of educators in the UAE when it was first launched in Abu Dhabi three years ago.

Conceptualised by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature and then developed and designed by the Environmental Research & Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA, to suit the local climate, the Enviro-Spellathon programme now covers most schools in the UAE.

Nearly 109,352 students from 387 schools took part in the academic year, 2002-03. Out of this, 73,000 students from 241 schools were from Abu Dhabi alone, with Dubai students forming the next largest block at 19,000. There were 10,403 students from 40 schools in Sharjah, and 6,737 students from 32 schools in Ras Al Khaimah. This year, schools from Fujairah will also take part in the spellathon. ERWDA is expecting the number of participating students to go up to 125,000 this year.

A colourful ceremony was recently held at the Abu Dhabi Sheraton to launch the third year of the Shell-sponsored event. Dr Frederic Launay, director, WWF, and representative of their local associate, Emirates Wildlife Society, said the purpose of the programme was to "influence the present generation to preserve their environment" by inculcating in them a sense of responsibility for the environment.

"The response to the spellathon has been overwhelming," he said. Participants were intrigued by the activities, finding it "lively, interesting and different".

"The spellathon has taught me about animals seen in the desert. I never used to pay attention to the world around me earlier," said 10-year-old Anya George of Grade V at St Joseph's School. Rujan Savio, 12, of Grade VII at Abu Dhabi Indian School, was thrilled to know he had been placed second in the Enviro-spellathon test. "I think these booklets help us know things like dugongs and endangered species not taught to us in textbooks," he said.

The Spellathon

The Enviro-Spellathon is aimed at children in the seven to 12 age group. It involves the study of six booklets — each signifying a level and developed to suit a particular age group — that focus on the UAE's environment. The booklets cover topics such as Wildlife of the UAE; Wildlife of the Cities; Wildlife of the Desert and Wildlife of the Seas. Two more were added recently — Taking Care of Water, and Waste.

With the help of Hamad, the young falconer, small nuggets of information are provided to the students as form of diagrams, quiz questions, puzzles and photographs. The spellathon coordinator conducts a test based on the booklets. Participants have to get 60 per cent to pass the test. Those with a higher percentage go on to become Enviro-Spellathon ambassadors and are awarded special prizes.

"The Enviro-Spellathon is indeed a first step to mould environmental behaviour in children," said Majid Al Mansouri, general secretary, ERWDA.