(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Doha: The students of Qatar Academy Doha (QAD) – a Qatar Foundation school – had received an appreciation letter, recently, from the H H Amir of Qatar for their efforts in pushing for a nation-wide ban on single-use plastics. Building on this effort, these students took up the task of beach-cleaning to raise even further awareness about plastic pollution, littering, and its detrimental effects on our environment.
Nine-year old Al Dhabi Al Thani, a student at Qatar Academy Doha (QAD), part of Qatar Foundation’s (QF’s) Pre-University Education, explains her reasons for joining the beach clean-up activity where she, along with other students and staff from QAD and the Doha Environmental Actions Project (DEAP), collected, on average, 10-12 kilos of trash from different beaches, such as Al Mafjar, Umm Bab, Al Ghariyah, in Qatar.
Al Dhabi says: 'I want to explore the beaches of Qatar, and watch the birds landing on water. I want to dive to discover the different marine life in these waters. I want to be sure they are all fine, and not in danger because of pollution and plastic.
'I participated in the beach cleaning campaign to help preserve the environment in Qatar. We spent two hours removing waste and plastic bags. We were tired, but we also had fun. We want to keep our country beautiful.”
QAD was recently awarded the Eco-School Green Flag by QF’s Qatar Green Building Council for meeting sustainability standards and awareness.
The ‘Activists in Action’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the risks posed by single-use plastic bags and is on a mission to collect 10,000 signatures on a petition calling for these bags to be banned in Qatar.
'Plastic bags are very harmful to the environment, and we are working to remove them, but that is not enough, as we are all supposed to stop using these bags and replace them with recycled ones,” Tamim Al Thani, another QAD student says.
'We request all community members to do their bit in preserving the environment, especially the sea, which has been a source of living for our ancestors – they used to dive to extract pearls and fish. And we want to protect it,” Tamim adds.
'Exploration of the natural world is an important phase in educational development at this stage of life,” says Eman Abdulla, Head of Learning and Outreach and Schools, Children’s Museum at Qatar Museums, and a mother of five children who study at QAD. 'Through this beach clean-up initiative, these children will understand the connection between their lifestyle choices and the impact of plastic and trash in the oceans, beaches and heritage sites.”
Eman says that an activity such as a beach clean-up, while being educative, is also an opportunity for the family to come together. She and her family has been involved in many beach clean-ups and environment awareness initiatives, and she says, 'We really enjoy the time we spend with each other; it has brought us closer as a family.”
Hamad Al Thani, a QAD student, notes that he shared his experiences with his friends in order to motivate them to participate in future beach clean-up campaigns, as well as to spread awareness about the need for everyone in Qatar to take responsibility to keep the waters and beaches clean.
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