It was with great enthusiasm that we – Karam-Yane Azzabi and Mohamed El Kadiri – travelled to Ouezzane on March 12th, in order to distribute trees to schools in the area.
As soon as we arrived, we were received by the Provincial Director of the Ministry of National Education. Our exchange focused on the opportunities for the Provincial Directorate and HAF can work together, while explaining the purpose of the tree planting project to schools. Indeed, the objective is none other than to make young students aware of the impact of climate change and how to deal with it by involving them in the planting of trees through workshops.
(Karam-Yane Azzabi presenting the SDGs goals with the Environmental club of Maruf al Rusafi School, emphasizing on the climate and environment SDGs, the Maruf Al Rusafi School won the prestigious label of “Ecological School” in 2020)
The activity started with a workshop session about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with the Environmental Club at Maruf al Rusafi School. Then, we gave a demonstration on how to plant trees by planting two carob and two olives trees. Then we visited two other schools, Aboul-Qacem Echebbi School and Jaafar Ibn Attia School, to plant the same kind and variety of trees.
(Students of Maruf al Rusafi School planting trees)
One of the things that positively surprised me was that despite their young age, the students already knew some information about the effects of climate change and tree planting. This is thanks to the tremendous effort of teachers and schools’ directors in discussing these aspects with students.
In total, 540 fruit trees (mainly almond and pomegranate trees) were distributed to more than 20 schools in the province of Ouezzane. All the distributed trees grew in the HAF nursery of the Children Protection Center in Fez.
(Picture with the Schools Directors, Representative of the Federation of Students’ Fathers and Mothers Associations, the President of Attahadi cooperative and students)
A special thanks to Mr. Ahmed El Ghazouani, a social activist, who coordinated with the Parents Association and with the schools’ directors to make this event a wonderful success.
Stay tuned for more information as this project, and others, move into future stages. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates.
