Solving any problem begins with raising a young generation that is aware of it and understands its dimensions. Hence, the focus on spreading environmental awareness during childhood. Building awareness from an early age is the cornerstone for establishing a paved path toward a more sustainable future, and raising children who respect nature and appreciate its importance.
This is what the "Nawah" initiative has highlighted in an effort to instill the principles of sustainable development in children's minds from an early age, helping to build a conscious society. "Nawah" is an environmental initiative launched by 15 students from the Faculty of Media at the Canadian Institute of Higher Education. It aims to spread environmental awareness among children about sustainable agriculture and emphasize its role in protecting the environment and living organisms.
Goals of “Nawah” initiative
Primarily, the initiative seeks to find alternative agricultural solutions to reduce negative behaviors that destroy the environment and soil and threaten the biodiversity of living organisms. The initiative adopts simple and rapid agricultural techniques that support the needs of sustainable agriculture and encourage children to practice simple environmental techniques that contribute to reducing threats to the agricultural environment.
Speaking to “Green in Arabic”, Martina Mina, an official at the “Nawah” initiative, said the initiative aims to find effective solutions to combat desertification and highlight its serious impact on the soil and environment, given the challenges and climate change that regularly affect the environment. Therefore, the initiative seeks to simplify agricultural techniques to encourage children to participate in their application without any effort or burden.
Martina added that the “Nawah” initiative aims to implement the (Seed Balls technology) and rapid cultivation, a technology that simply aims to implement alternative agricultural methods that are characterized by ease and simplicity. Seed balls consist of a mixture of clay, organic materials, and seeds, which are mixed together and formed into small balls. They are then thrown directly onto the soil to begin the germination process under sunlight, while providing the necessary water to accelerate plant growth without the intervention of complex and expensive equipment and technologies.
How does the “Nawah” initiative contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?
The “Nawah” initiative seeks to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on Goal 13 on climate action, to educate children and youth and put them on a sustainable path regarding climate change. It also worked to implement Goal 15 on life in the wild, which seeks to protect the environment and improve agricultural practices.
“Nawah” Initiative's steps to combat climate change
Martina explained that the initiative aims to implement effective, low-cost steps to combat climate change by increasing cultivated areas, given the importance of plants in absorbing carbon dioxide. This will reduce emissions and improve air quality, restoring environmental balance and contributing to mitigating climate problems.
Challenges facing the "Nawah" initiative
Martina said that producing large quantities of seed balls was one of the biggest challenges the Nawaat initiative faced at the start of its implementation, as the process required a lot of effort and time. Therefore, it was important to find a number of people to meet the growing demand and help produce larger quantities of balls.
Regarding the availability of materials used in the production of seed balls, Martina said that the priority was to obtain all materials from nurseries and to ensure the use of 100% natural materials without chemical additives, to maintain the production of high-quality, environmentally friendly crops.
How did the public react to the "Nawah" initiative?
Martina reviewed the most prominent methods they used to encourage active public participation during the initiative's implementation. They encouraged child participants to implement the planting steps directly on the ground, making them feel like they were part of the environmental reform and positive change process. This led to increased interest in the initiative's interactive activities and attracted a larger number of participants due to the interactive activities and field events the initiative held to raise awareness and engage participants positively.
She also announced the entities that contributed to supporting the initiative, most notably the Ministry of Environment and the United Arab Bank, to expand the positive scope and support the initiative's goals, in addition to enhancing its environmental and societal impact.
The impact and change expected to occur after the launch of the "Nawah" initiative
Martina expressed the expected positive impacts of the initiative's launch, which primarily aims to combat desertification and mitigate its harmful environmental impacts. She explained that this response primarily requires expanding sustainable agriculture to make a difference in soil and air quality and preserve the biodiversity of living organisms, which will contribute to raising environmental awareness among younger generations.
She concluded her remarks by saying that real environmental change does not come about through large steps and projects, which is what the “Nawah” initiative relied on in its message and slogan, “A seed in a ball.” "Change the Picture" expresses the sense of belonging and responsibility that the initiative aims to achieve by raising awareness of sustainable agriculture through simple and easy steps. Therefore, every participant in the initiative is not just a volunteer, but rather an active player in shedding light on a new environmental trend that future generations will strive to achieve.
