EAD launches Al Madaris Al Musatadama Initiative

Through this initiative, EAD will help schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to carry out "green audits" and find ways to reduce their ecological footprint.

HE Majid Al Mansouri, EAD's Secretary General and Mr. Jay Pearson, General Manager, BP Abu Dhabi, signed the agreement in a ceremony on Wednesday at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi with the attendance of H.E Mohammad Al Bowardi, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Managing Director of EAD and Dr. Tony Hayward, Group Chief executive of BP. HE Edward Oakden CMG, British Ambassador to the UAE and Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director General of Abu Dhabi Education Council "ADEC", also attended the signing ceremony.

It will be mandatory for participating schools to first carry out a green audit in their schools to measure their own environmental impacts and then set targets to address this impact. Secondly, schools will also have to capacity build their teachers to be able to impart environmental education thorough training their teachers.

Thirdly, schools will have to establish and run environmental clubs in their schools so as to empower their students to explore environmental actions and concerns beyond what their curriculum demands. Schools will also have to expose their students to hands on field trips.

EAD will train a cadre of volunteer field educators with motivated and committed teachers from schools and other institutions to conduct field trips to expose more and more students to these experiences.

"Abu Dhabi is developing fast and this is impacting our environment. An environmentally aware society is an expected outcome that we share with the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. We all want our future generation to become environmentally responsible citizens of the world. This initiative has become a reality thanks to collaboration with Abu Dhabi Emirate's Education Zones and Abu Dhabi Education Council, and to the financial support of BP,"

said H.E Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD.

"One of the keys to achieving environmental sustainability is through Education. We are proud to say that this initiative will address the whole school, including students, their parents, teachers and administrative officials. Moreover, it is in line with best practice in environmental education from around the world," said Fozeya Al Mahmoud, Manager of Environmental Education Department, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD).

"For the next five years, we will be building the capacity of these schools, including Government, Private and Model schools. We will help them realize their own impact on the environment. By the end of this initiative, not only will the participating schools would have reduced their own ecological footprint, they would also have moved from 'awareness' to 'action' by delivering concrete results. The activities in this project will help promote critical thinking abilities, leadership qualities and problem solving skills. Moreover, teachers will be empowered, trained and armed with the necessary resource material to guide their students," said Gayatri Raghwa, Specialist, Environment Education Department, EAD.

Speaking at the signing ceremony BP's General Manager in Abu Dhabi, Jay Pearson, said "BP has a strong reputation for promoting education and environmental responsibility around the world. We are delighted to be working in partnership with EAD to support this important initiative in Abu Dhabi. The Sustainable Schools Initiative is an example of EAD's vision and creativity and we have every confidence that it will make a real difference in Abu Dhabi's schools."

To guide schools throughout this initiative, EAD has developed several tools in collaboration with India's Center for Science and Environment and Center for Environment Education.

EAD will provide these tools to participating schools:

1.The Green School Manual: is a do-it-yourself manual that contains guidelines for students and teachers on how to audit water, air, energy, waste, and land, within the school premises has been developed. An online portal will also be developed to help schools share their audit experiences. This portal will help teachers to report their results. EAD will train teachers on how to use this manual effectively.

2.The Environmental Clubs Manual: Environmental clubs in schools give students an opportunity to translate their awareness into action. EAD has already helped establish several environmental clubs in schools around the Emirate in the past. As part of the Sustainable Schools Initiative, a manual targeting school coordinators on why and how to run these environmental clubs in schools was developed. EAD will train teachers on how to use this manual effectively.

3.The Environmental Field Trips Manual: A manual has been developed to equip field educators with the tools they need while accompanying students on their trips. This manual includes guidelines and information on sites that can be visited by students, the activities they can undertake during the trip along with an flora and fauna identification guide in addition to contacts and organizations that could be approached to take the trip.

4.The Environment Education Teachers' Manual (3 Volumes): This is a teachers' guide to environmental education and education for sustainable development. This will target primary school, secondary school and intermediate school teachers.

5.Teacher's Online Training & Certification Course: This is a basic online certification course on environmental education.

6.Training of the Trainers' Programme: Each year, 10-12 training sessions will be held for teachers from participating schools. Local and international experts will deliver the training. To share best practices and get more exposure, teachers will also be sent to relevant international teacher's conferences.

7.Green School Awards: At the end of every academic session, the Green School Awards will recognize school achievements based on concrete deliverables.

Once the project is underway, EAD will link Al Madaris Al Mustadama with similar international initiatives to share experiences. EAD will also consider retrofitting the participating schools with water and energy-saving technology.

In the first phase of the project, the participating schools are Al Dana Primary School, Al Ghazali School, Um Ammar Secondary School, Salama bin Buti Secondary, Ummama Bint Al Harith, Abu Dhabi Secondary School, Abu Dhabi Indian School, Al Nahda National School, Abu Dhabi Grammar School, Al Rawafed Private School, Al Bashair Private School, Sheikh Zayed Private Academy, Al Dhafra Private School, Ashbal Al Quds Private School, St. Joseph School, Al Gharbia Model School, Al Khamael Model School, Al Farasdaq High School, Qatr Al Nada high school, Al Ibtikar School, Al Taleah School, Al Saroug School, Al Tamyoz Model School, Al Baeraq School, Al Maali Primary Model School and Liwa International School