The Ministry of Education has initiated the program entitled “toward a better environment" in several cities in the Kingdom including Jeddah.

The Jeddah department of the Ministry of Education has nominated 12 schools to start their own projects.

The Department of Education in Jeddah organized an event on Saturday to honor the first four winners who have been nominated out of 12 projects. Professors from King Abdulaziz University and the teachers from the ministry evaluated the projects and gave the first award to a project promoting the protection of public property. The second award was for a project against air pollution in schools, the third to a project about water protection. The fourth award went to a project on pesticides and their effect on creatures and environment.

The project that aimed to combat air pollution devised a computerized system for fathers and drivers waiting outside the schools. They can call the students by keying in their number on a computer, which will show on a screen inside the school. The traditional way of calling students by using a microphone creates air pollution, said the students.

A group of students from a public school focused on combating rats in Jeddah. Raghad Al-Jahdali, a member of the group, said they had worked on increasing awareness on cleanliness and added, “Leftovers at the beach increased the number of rats. We went in groups to clean the beach in an attempt to combat them.” Their motto, said Al-Jahdali, is: Without rats Jeddah would look nice.

Samya Bin Ladin, the assistant for Educational Affairs at the Department of Education, said the increasing problem of pollution and its threat to creatures drove them to increase awareness through education.

Manal Madani, the supervisor of student activities at the ministry in Jeddah, said they have trained teachers and students to come up with awareness campaigns that would benefit an environmental field they are interested in. She added the projects have to be unique and not repetitive. These programs she said will be implemented in Jeddah districts, malls and beaches.

Hala Nusair, the head of the women’s section at the World Assembly of Muslim Youth said that WAMY will financially support some of these projects, “As long as they are strong, provided by youth and benefit the environment we are obliged to support them,” she added.