JEDDAH, 11 April 2004 — What can one individual do to help protect and conserve the fragile desert ecosystem in the Kingdom?
Schools have occasionally involved themselves in the past, with children camping out, especially along the Corniche, with or without the support of sponsors. They have collected empty juice cans from the Red Sea coastline, sometimes sponsored by the worst offenders — the fast-food companies whose cartons they would have to pick up.
Children have found such exercises educational, both in terms of learning what factors cause the environment to deteriorate and what positive steps can help protect it.
“We have now made it a point not to throw empty juice cans or snack wrappers around or into the water,” Kholoud Abdul Rahman, a fifth grader of Al-Thagr School, said while picnicking with her parents on the Corniche.
The beach looked quite clean on Friday, offering a glimmer of hope that things may be changing.
The local American school and a recycling company have come together to address the problem in their way.
Recycling is said to be the easiest way to minimize personal impact on the environment and to start making a difference. For instance, it takes more energy to create a new product (such as an aluminum can) than it does to recycle it. “Recycling has a direct impact on our landfills — the main way of getting rid of our garbage,” Christine Bates of the American school said.
An example of the need to recycle is the number of juice boxes children consume each day. Many children drink at least one a day, some twice a day or even more. For one child, that is 14 juice boxes a week, 60 a month and 720 a year. For the average family here in Jeddah, that number doubles or triples, meaning that they would then throw out more than 2,000 juice boxes a year. At a school with a student population of 700, this could mean over one million juice boxes sent to landfills annually.
“So that leads us to the question that we cannot continue ignoring — what can we do, especially here in Jeddah?” she asks.
First, get educated. There are many businesses in Jeddah participating in exploiting endangered species. “I’ve seen orangutans on bicycles, albino pythons and other endangered animals as well as ebony products — all for sale,” she says.
As long as there is a demand for these products, stores will continue selling them. When faced with this, consumers have a choice to make. They need to realize the power they have, she argues — the power to vote with their feet.
One approach she is suggesting to her students is to use cloth bags when they go grocery shopping. A leading superstore chain has realized the importance of using cloth instead of plastic and now offers its customers cloth bags.
“However, the best thing we could do for the environment is to set a good example for our children,” Bates said. “Let them see us using garbage cans, or picking up a piece of litter that doesn’t belong to us. Do this and you’ll be setting a great example for our children, who truly are our future.
“Education starts with us but continues with them,” she says.
