The Enviro-Spellathon in Fujairah - A splendid launch

In the sprawling splendour of his office, we spoke of subjects ranging from corporate social responsibility of the oil and gas industry, climate change, and even the bird flu virus, to - naturally! - the Enviro-Spellathon programme, of which His Highness himself is the patron in Fujairah. The discussion, punctuated with Sheikh Sharqi's keen sense of humour that kept us chuckling, went on for a good half hour.

Jassim Mohamed Bin Darwish, Secretary General, of General Secretariat of UAE Municipalities was there; Eng. Rashid Hamdan Abdullah, Director Fujairah Municipality was there; and so were dignitaries from the Ministry of Education, Shell, Abu Dhabi's Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA), and a host of senior officials from other institutions.

The WWF - EWS staff were also present. They got an opportunity to thank H.H. Sheikh Sharqi for his enormous support for Enviro-Spellathon - an education programme, which ensures that children in the UAE do not grow up believing their country is desolate desert without notable biological diversity.

Rather, they learn of the wildlife their land sustains and how to take care of it. The programme is being implemented for the first time in Fujairah, having run over the past two years in Abu Dhabi, and one in Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.

Shell is, and has been, the exclusive sponsor of the Enviro-Spellathon since its introduction into the UAE in 2001. The WWF and its local associate, the EWS (Emirates Wildlife Society) and ERWDA are the organisers. The municipalities in Dubai and Fujairah, Sharjah's Environment and Protected Areas Authority and Ras Al Khaimah's Environment Protection & Industrial Development Commission are co-organisers implementing the programme in their respective emirates.

Through six beautifully designed booklets focussing on the UAE's environment, the Enviro-Spellathon teaches children between the age of 6 and 12 years about the country's wildlife, habitats and natural resources. They also talk of how to conserve these. Children study the booklets, are tested and graded on these, and are presented certificates and gifts depending on scores attained. The best 10 students from each school are nominated Enviro-Spellathon Ambassadors.

It is an education programme that conveniently blends into the curriculum and, because it involves study in schools under the supervision of teachers, everything that the Enviro-Spellathon booklets say is taken seriously by children. Alongside, family members benefit too; because the children are encouraged to share their books with the folk at home.

As the programme launch ceremony unfolded in Fujairah, there were speeches by the heads of agencies that supervise the Enviro-Spellathon followed by an exceptionally interactive press that kept up a flow of questions; a film on the programme process; and, finally, two delightful musicals on environmental themes by the students of Rawdat Al Rahmaniya and Al Bahr schools of Fujairah.

"Keep the environment clean," they chirped, wearing costumes adorned with foliage, as they picked up trash and planted saplings against a backdrop of sun, sand and sea.

"Save me," cried the earth, as it accused humans of polluting, and desecrating it in other ways ...till the 'friends of earth' show up and happiness descends.

A lively, entertaining and meaningful ceremony to usher in an education programme that this is bound to go down well with children! They will sit in class and learn about the wildlife and habitats outside. They will learn how to save water and energy and all of the earth's resources.

They will know environmental spellings and enhance their language skills. They will move from one Enviro-Spellathon level to the other - learning to tackle 'waste' the first year, learning about 'wildlife of the UAE' the following year, 'wildlife of the cities' the next year, and so on.

Some 125,000 students across five emirates are expected to reap the benefits of Enviro-Spellathon in the current academic year.