Environmental Activities Guide for Teachers completed

The Guide aims to enhance the environmental knowledge and awareness of teachers so that they may pass the message to their students who will contribute to the much needed movement toward sustainable development in the UAE.

The Guide, which was finalized during a meeting this week, contains different activities that will help teachers highlight various environmental concepts to their students. It focuses on four themes: Environmental Challenges; Environmental Awareness; Environment & Development; Environment, Science & Technology.

The effort to 'green' the curriculum is being led by the Committee which was formed by the Ministry of Education, under the directions of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi.

The Committee was able to identify gaps which need to be addressed after conducting a comprehensive survey of Government school textbooks, their curricula and student activities. The Committee then studied the experiences of other countries and decided to integrate environmental concepts into all subjects rather than introduce a new subject that focuses only on the environment.

The environmental concepts to be introduced will focus on important environmental issues in the UAE specifically and the environmental challenges the world faces in general. Moreover, the concepts are tailored to the primary, secondary and high school level.

With a 'greener' curriculum, values will be stressed such as conserving natural resources, supporting the UAE's environmental protection efforts, and volunteering in the community.

With the new academic year beginning in September, teachers and supervisors from the Ministry of Education will be participating in training workshops on how to implement the activities in the Guide.

The Committee's members include Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, officials and supervisors from the Ministry of Education and Emirates Heritage Club.