The two month long school campaign – ‘The UAE Schools Environmental Sustainability Competition’ – aimed at increasing awareness among students of their natural surroundings, saw an outreach to all schools in the UAE with 33 schools directly participating, over 1.027 million impressions made via social media and a sustainable garden planted in the backyard of the winning school.

The campaign also encouraged participating students to showcase how their respective schools were involved in sustainable initiatives that could serve as an example to their peers across the educational system in the country. Five of these schools were chosen by a judging panel to create videos on sustainability which then went viral across the country. The winning school was chosen from four submitted videos.

Organised by Canon Middle East, and supported by Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF), both organisations with a great track record for their community work, the competition increased students’ awareness around environmental issues and encouraged them to find solutions to local ecological problems. The initiative lit the imagination of students who displayed newfound determination to make the UAE one of the world’s most environmentally responsible countries.

The event was attended by Jane Truscott, Private Schools Development Director of Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) along with officials from Canon Middle East, EWS-WWF and Desert Group.

Students from the winning school were given on-site guidance by Desert Group, one of the leading landscape companies in the UAE.  Desert Group, also well known as owners of the Dubai Garden Centre, donated their time to design, prepare and with the assistance of the students, plant the low-water consumption garden for Canon’s Plantation Day.

The children were advised on how to grow a sustainable garden with easy maintenance and were educated on the impact that the new school garden would have on their natural environment.

“The garden has been created with gravel in order to make it a more functional space as well as to lower water consumption in this area,” said Jacquis Tolsma, Project Manager of Desert Group.   “We also planted fruit trees in order to make the garden edible and provide shade to lower the exposure of soil to direct sunlight.”

Al Bashair Private School submitted a winning three minute themed video on sustainability which showed how students were conserving energy and encouraging sustainability at their school and amongst their peers. As a result of their enterprise, EWS-WWF, along with Canon, supported them in the production of the short film, whilst simultaneously educating them on issues around the environment.

Students from the five schools will also get a rare preview of the Wadi Wurayah National Park which is home to more than 100 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians as well as more than 300 species of plants.

Mai Youssef, Corporate Communication Director, Canon Middle East, and one of the judges, said: “We are really excited about being a part of such a revolutionary project. We believe that this will be the start of many such initiatives across the nation, ones that will both educate and encourage local communities, and students like those at Al Bashair Private School, to take pride in ensuring that the UAE is a clean, sustainable country.”

Ghada Nabil, Education officer at Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed showing these extremely enthusiastic, bright young minds, and the future of the UAE, new and innovative techniques to better their school’s environment.”

Sawsan Tarabishy, Principal, Al Bashair Private School, said: “We at Al Bashair Private School, aim to support the UAE`s 2030 vision of sustainability by integrating the importance of protecting and preserving the environment for future generations into the curriculum.

“Our students were truly amazed by the number of votes and support they received through social media.  Pupils began to ask about the meaning of sustainability.  They experienced first-hand how small environmental initiatives at the school can have a bigger impact on society,” she concluded.