Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) organised its 20th cycle of the annual student workshops from the 20th – 22nd of October, 2020 with the participation of more than 300 students.
Held under the theme “Sustainability: A Global Puzzle”, the workshops provided students with an interactive platform and hands-on activities to be implemented throughout the day. The educational content was developed with the focus of connecting environmental issues to the social and economic ones.
Three of our grade 9 students, Lillian Joseph, Manuel Bilu Mathews and Nishtula Ramesh, participated in this workshop.
Lillian Joseph shares her learning and the changes she will make in her lifestyle.
Lessons I learnt from this workshop:
- The causes of environmental degradation and habitat fragmentation and ways to stop it.
Habitat fragmentation occurs when a large area of habitat is transformed as smaller patches are isolated.
Causes:
*overuse of natural resources
*imbalance in nature when ecosystems are disturbed
2. The importance of global sustainability and its importance in saving the environment.
3. How the pandemic has affected environmental sustainability
Positive impacts: global carbon emissions and greenhouse gases reduced, government transitioning into sustainable energy forms
Negative impacts: outbreak has also provided cover for illegal activities such as deforestation of Amazon rainforest and poaching in Africa and other countries.
- Oil production and how it made UAE successful
- The types of renewable energy – wind energy, solar energy, hydro energy
- Precautions we can take during the Covid 19 pandemic.
7. Environmental impact of electronic devices
Toxic materials and chemicals from electronic devices seep into groundwater which affects land and sea animals.
8. Understanding of sustainability
A sustainable system is a system whose biodiversity and productivity are preserved over time.
Changes I will make to contribute to Global sustainability:
- Follow the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)
- Carpool more
- Try to shop for more sustainable products like bamboo
Lillian Joseph