Making teachers think green

A workshop organised by the Emirates Environment Group last month turned out to be an interesting experience for the 42 teachers who attended it

This was the first time that the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) organised a training workshop for teachers.

It was also the first time that two non-governmental organisations in the Emirates – EEG and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – worked side by side towards a common goal: environmental education.

"This workshop," says Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson, EEG, "will help teachers motivate students to embrace green thinking." Participants would be given tips on practical education methods rather than theoretical and be made to understand 'sustainable development'.

Friday attends the workshop to gauge the current thrust in eco-education and speaks to key resource persons.

The programme focuses on 'training the trainer'. Plenty of environmental education resource materials greet teachers as they arrive on October 7, 2001, at the Towers Rotana Hotel, Dubai, for a workshop, 'Environment Across the Curriculum'.

Present are 42 teachers from schools in Sharjah, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai; and resource persons: Habiba Al Marashi, Luc P. Deslarzes, senior policy adviser, environmental education, WWF International, and Frederic Launay, acting director, WWF UAE Project Office.

A film runs in the background – children absorbed in examining biological features at a nature camp; constructing a poultry pen extending over a fish pond so the droppings of chickens serve as food for fishes; planting trees in a school campus; learning how to recycle paper... There is also a stack of similar films available for viewing.

But first, 'the dark face of the environment' because, like it or not, it is real and we are largely responsible for it. Fred races us through some depressing realities. The burgeoning human population.