29-05-2020 | di COOPI

Lebanon. A green-future thanks to the students of Jurd-el-Kaytee

The campaign to raise awareness about the ecological damage caused by unregulated waste management continues in Lebanon. Up to today, COOPI together with COSPE, Mada, AUB, Coop. Erica, StudioAzue, and Jurd al Kaytee Municipality reached 1,043 students of primary schools and 103 teachers thanks to the European Union funded project “SWaM Akkar. Supporting Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Jurd al-Kaytee, Akkar”.

Despite this year’s challenges and the preventive closure of schools to limit the spread of Covid-19, the “Don’t Waste your Waste” awareness campaign addressed 413 students of 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades and 71 students of the 1^st and 2^nd grades. The project targets children teaching them the environmental values and the respect for nature aiming to contribute to the development and improvement of comprehensive waste management systems.

Clean up your school day

From June 2018 (start of the project) to today, COOPI implemented several activities reaching children and teachers in the schools of Jurd el-Kaytee municipalities in the Akkar district of the Nahr al-Bared river basin. Among these activities: workshops, training sessions and events for the collection of waste in schools (‘Clean up your schools’). Moreover, in March 2019 during the International Forest Day, students planted 120 walnut trees in 5 different municipalities as a symbol of rebirth and hope for a greener, cleaner and healthier future.

Plantation day

The lockdown to face the pandemic implemented by the Lebanese government suspended the activities. Nevertheless, thanks to the project’s extension, COOPI scheduled new awareness sessions and training during fall 2020. These activities will reach around 190 students.

Students' workshop

Creating a debate on these topics with students is fundamental in a country like Lebanon where still today waste management represents a challenge. Awareness and communication on waste management are essential to encourage the community to actively participate and to modify their habits. Thus, children and young students are a good stepping-stone for the creation of a common consciousness and the restart of the country.