Gardening Project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example

Gardening Project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Name Institution Gardening Project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Project Overview and Aims Saudi Arabia has witnessed a ‘great acceleration’ that has improved the quality of life of its citizens by a substantial margin. However, the increased wealth and development has coincided with desertification and increased pollution primarily from heavy industries like fossil fuel extraction and transport. The environmental degradation has had a toll on both animal and plant populations. Climate change, unsustainable land use, and grazing have affected biodiversity in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region as a whole forcing plant species to migrate to different habitats or decline and face extinction (Thomas, 2011). This trend can be seen in Jabal Warjan and Jabal Tallan, mountainous areas whose lower slopes are covered with dead Juniperus trees, Dragon trees, and Daphne bushes that had thrived for many centuries (Thomas, 2011). The loss of these and other species is perilous in an environment like the Middle East that is primarily arid. Education that focuses on the environment is of paramount importance to kids, and as science teachers, we are required to teach students about issues like sustainability, population, growth, environmental degradation, and biodiversity. This project applies the Environmental Science and Non-Western Perspectives to the problem of loss of plant biodiversity. The project seeks to educate students on the value of biodiversity by giving them the opportunity to manage a garden that hosts a broad range of species that are available in the Kingdom. The project will also examine the traditional approaches to sustainability that have existed in Saudi Arabia and whether they will be relevant in mitigating desertification. The use of the earth science perspective will be essential to the achievement of the project aims as it will allow students to understand the different geological periods, planetary boundaries, human effects on the planet, and the consequences of biodiversity loss. The Non-Western perspective will also assist as there will be an emphasis on sharing traditional knowledge and educating the students on their responsibility to care for their country. Project Context The project will be implemented in my school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The distinguishing characteristic of the environment is the rapid changes that have taken place in the country. Key indicators of the scale of changes can be seen in the county’s GDP becoming 6.5 times greater, population doubling from 16 million to 31 million, and carbon emissions rising by around 40% in the period between 1990 and 2014 (World Bank, 2017). The increased desertification, which defines the conversion of productive deserts into non-productive deserts, over the same period raises questions about the capacity of the country to sustain both human and non-human life (Amin, 2004). Reuse of wastewater from the main cities in Saudi Arabia has been proposed as one of the solutions to the issue of desertification. Use of saline water, land reclamation, the use of mulch, and sand stabilisation have also been proposed (Amin, 2004). The area of interest in this project is community service, which Amin (2004) describes as an education-oriented approach that provides training on the efficient use of water, adverse impacts of deforestation, overgrazing, and the importance of planting windbreak trees. The project proposes to educate students on these issues by allowing them to manage a garden that hosts vulnerable plant species as well as nurture tree nurseries for species that can help in combatting desertification. Importantly, the project fits with the existing education policy in the country. According to Rasooldeen (2015), the Ministry of Education seeks to develop students and teach them skills that will be relevant in a rapidly changing world. The ministry encourages creativity, continuous learning, linking education to life, problem-solving, identifying rights and obligations of citizens, and research outside the classroom. Evidently, the project will fit within the science curriculum framework in Saudi Arabia. Project Research The choice of desertification, and by extension climate change, has been influenced by the debate on how to live in a world with restrained resources. On the one hand, Saudi Arabia and other developing countries seek to advance to the point where the quality of life matches or surpasses that in the western world. On the other hand, much of the development will rely on fossil fuels which will lead to a breach of planetary boundaries thereby reducing the quality of life in the long-run. The Anthropocene also informs the project choice as it takes the position that humans have become a force of nature, but there is the debate on whether it is possible to return the world to its previous state or whether people should find ways to become sustainable in the Anthropocene age (Economist Leaders, 2011). Amin’s research on the extent of desertification in Saudi Arabia has informed the project design. The paper finds that desertification is a threat to the few areas that can sustain agriculture in a mostly arid country. The recommendations include making use of all available wastewater resources, forestation programs, and management of grazing lands, and education. This project borrows the training aspect of the recommendations and implements it in a school setting to enhance knowledge and experience on human impacts on the environment and how sustainability can be pursued. The project design is also influenced by The Green School, where the study of nature, ecology, environment, and sustainability is given the same priority as Math, English, and Science. It is worth noting that the Green School is situated in Bali whose tropical climate is radically different from Saudi Arabia’s Arid Climate. As such, the project design will be modified to suit the Saudi Arabian context where sustainability will be given even greater importance (Green School, 2017). The project design is also influenced by The King Abdullah International Gardens in Riyadh. The project will create the world’s biggest botanical garden that will host plant life from the Arabian Peninsula to educate on the history of the earth, the consequences of human activities, and the choices that society still has regarding the future of the planet (KAIG, 2017). The project borrows from the idea of using a garden to explain the history of the earth and the threats it faces, but it does so on a smaller scale that can be managed by science students in the school. Relevance of Perspectives to the Project Earth Science Perspective The Earth science perspective takes a multidisciplinary approach to sustainability. The approach will be relevant to the project in several ways. The garden will teach students about human activities and how they have evolved over time to the point where humans have become a force of nature (Steffen, Crutzen & McNeill, 2007). This will be done through the exploration of the different geological ages leading up to the Anthropocene. The garden project will teach students how the recent development of Saudi Arabia has placed a burden on an arid environment that already struggles to sustain life. The students will learn that while the amenities they enjoy have come from the exploitation of fossil fuels, the amenities come at a cost to the environment and that all Saudi citizens have an obligation to work towards mitigating adverse impacts of human-induced climate change. In other words, the project seeks to teach the students that humanity needs to fundamentally alter its relationship with the planet and become planetary stewards (Steffen et al., 2011). Failure to take this role will lead the earth towards a hostile and irreversible state. In addition to the Anthropocene, planetary boundaries, and climate change, biodiversity loss will be relevant to the project. As mentioned, Saudi Arabia is witnessing plant species that have thrived for centuries being threatened and faced with extinction due to human-induced climate change (Thomas, 2011). The project aims to introduce learners to these species to educate them about their histories and importance. This will be achieved through managing a garden that has vulnerable species as well as other non-vulnerable species that play a role in reducing desertification. A seed bank will also be part of the project as an effort to protect species that are threatened by human activities. The project approach borrows from Taylor and Pacini-Ketchabaw (2015) who introduced children to worms and ants to illustrate the “mortal entanglements and vulnerabilities” with other species. The children in the garden project will learn about the consequences of biodiversity loss in a world where humans and other species share the same fate. Non-Western Perspective The implementation of the garden project in Saudi Arabia will necessitate the exploration of non-western approaches to sustainability. According to Rose (1996), indigenous Australians have acquired a comprehensive understanding of their resources and developed complex techniques to manage these resources. The same case applies to Saudi Arabia, a harsh environment that has sustained life for centuries. The proposed project seeks to employ the non-western perspective in educating students on how their ancestors managed the environment to protect vulnerable plant and animal species. In the case of Saudi Arabia, this objective was achieved through the Hema System. According to Zahran and Younes (1990), the Hema system is one of the oldest traditional systems that protects plant life. The approach has been employed in Saudi Arabia from the pre-Islamic era and also after Prophet Mohammad created guidelines that made the system to become a pillar of conservation in Islamic Law (Verde, 2008). The persistence of the system is evidence of its effectiveness in plant conservation, with modern conservationists using it to address the challenge of desertification that threatens habitats across the Middle East (Verde, 2008). The system assists rural communities to protect vulnerable wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands from exploitation that will harm biodiversity and have adverse impacts on the economic well-being of communities (Verde, 2008). The garden project will include an evaluation of the Hema system with the aim of passing down knowledge on traditional and religious approaches to sustainability. The project will also highlight the fact that students have a sacred duty to care for their country. Evidently, the non-western perspective will be extremely relevant to the garden project. Project Implementation Plan The project will be implemented in a primary school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The simplicity and scope of the project will also allow it to be implemented across other primary schools in the country and the Middle East as a whole. The targeted learners are science students who will be assisted by teachers to create and manage a garden. The time frame will cover at least two years to allow students to gain experience on both annual plants that complete their life cycle within a short period and perennial plants that have longer life spans that exceed two years. The learners will observe and manage the garden once a week during the school periods. The activities will include practical experience that covers planting, watering, and relocating plant species to the wild. There will also be lessons that include both the earth science and non-western perspectives. The chosen sustainability issue is climate change and more specifically desertification. The lessons will allow students to learn about the effects of human activities on the planet and how these activities threaten the sustainability of life. Under the non-western perspective, the lessons will cover how ancient communities cared for the environment. The lessons will also take a religious perspective where students will learn about the need for conservation. The practical aspect of the project will concentrate on the shared destiny of human and non-human life. The learners will encounter threatened plant species and create a seed bank to illustrate the importance of biodiversity. The project activities will serve the project's overall goal of teaching students to become planetary stewards. When it comes to evaluation, teachers will monitor the activities and interview students to assess their grasp of sustainability challenges and potential solutions to mitigate these problems. The project will also be evaluated by looking at its integration in the school curriculum and its potential introduction in other schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East. References Amin, A. A. (2004). The extent of desertification on Saudi Arabia. Environmental Geology, 46(1), 22-31. Green School. (2017). Welcome to the beautiful Bali Jungle. Green School Bali. Retrieved 8 May 2017 https://www.greenschool.org/about/ KAIG. (2017). Our core proposition. King Abdullah International Gardens. Retrieved 8 May 2017 http://www.kaig.net/01_About/1B_01.asp Rasooldeen, M.D. (2015). KSA’s education strategy geared toward sustainable development. Arab News. Retrieved 8 May 2017 http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/695836 Rose, D. B. (1996). Nourishing Terrains. Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra. Steffen, W., Crutzen, P. J., & McNeill, J. R. (2007). The Anthropocene: Are humans now overwhelming the great forces of nature. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 36(8), 614-621. Steffen, W., Persson, Å., Deutsch, L., Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Richardson, K., ... & Molina, M. (2011). The Anthropocene: From global change to planetary stewardship. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 40(7), 739-761. Taylor, A., & Pacini-Ketchabaw, V. (2015). Learning with children, ants, and worms in the Anthropocene: Towards a common world pedagogy of multispecies vulnerability. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 23(4), 507-529. The Economist Leaders. (2011). The geology of the planet: Welcome to the Anthropocene. The Economist. Retrieved 9 May 2017 http://www.economist.com/node/18744401 Thomas, J. (2011). Plant diversity in Saudi Arabia: Impacts on plant communities. Retrieved 8 May 2017 http://www.plantdiversityofsaudiarabia.info/Biodiversity-Saudi-Arabia/Conservation/Impacts%20on%20communities.htm Verde, T. (2008). A tradition of conservation. Aramco World. Retrieved 9 May 2017 http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200806/a.tradition.of.conservation.htm World Bank. (2017). Saudi Arabia. The World Bank Group. Retrieved 8 May 2017 http://data.worldbank.org/country/saudi-arabia Zahran, M. A., & Younes, H. A. (1990). Hema system: traditional conservation of plant life in Saudi Arabia. JKAU Sci, 2, 19-41. Read More