The Kuwait Environment Protection Society considered its annual educational and awareness program, “Green Schools,” which is multi-faceted and seeks to “spread correct environmental knowledge and culture and instill the values of environmental citizenship and environmental volunteering among young people,” to be one of the scientific and awareness-raising resources directed at students, which sheds light on various environmental issues, including biodiversity in all its elements, announcing the conclusion of the program for its twelfth season for the current academic year, coinciding with the launch of its week-long celebrations of the International Day for Biological Diversity.
She announced that she delivered a scientific lecture at Kuwait University as the conclusion of the twelfth season of the “Green Schools” program for the current academic year, in the presence of Qut Al-Mukhallad, teaching assistant at the College of Public Health, “Health Awareness Class, Third Year,” adding, “The lecture addressed public health and public health students, as we discussed the relationship between the environment and the safety of biodiversity with public health, and the role of the Environmental Protection Law in protecting public health, food security, water security, reducing pollution, and the severe penalties.”.
She added that “the lecture reviewed the topic of drinking water quality and the importance of maintaining the high quality produced by the Ministry of Electricity and Water until it reaches homes, and how to keep it safe within homes and facilities. This was explained in the Environmental Protection Law, and the association’s role in drafting the law. The lecture also addressed how to choose water filters for homes. Regarding dealing with environmental problems related to biodiversity and their impact on public health, such as being present at sites of fish and marine mammal deaths like whales, the lecture highlighted the dangers of interfering in areas where we lack knowledge and the resulting harm. The lecture also touched on the association’s role in environmental awareness through its series documenting wildlife in the State of Kuwait, which identifies the link between living organisms and public health and their connection to the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, it addressed safe shopping practices that housewives and heads of households should know when shopping in supermarkets for food, emphasizing the importance of separating meats from other foods such as baby food, vegetables, and fruits to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella.”.
Behzad pointed out that “the Green Schools Program includes many topics, events and activities in the fields of environmental awareness that contribute to developing and promoting active citizenship among young people, and encouraging environmental volunteer work in the school community. The society also works to enrich and enhance the program with emerging topics in national environmental work, year after year, to achieve more of the desired benefit.” She explained that “the topics included in the program are covered by specialized professors who are members of the society in the specific field of the topic, and that the annual edition of the Green Schools Program includes about two thousand male and female students from the Ministry of Education schools and private education schools, in addition to meetings via Zoom with the teachers and students participating in the events.”.
She explained that “the axes of the Green Schools program vary between workshops, discussion panels, training courses, participation in related events and exhibitions, as well as organizing field visits to environmental sites in the country,” noting that “the events include activities to promote the application of the Environmental Protection Law in schools and to raise awareness of the importance of addressing the causes of climate change on a personal level for the student and for schools as institutions participating in education and training.”.
