The Creative Spirit Team Goes Green

The Creative Spirit
Team Goes Green

The Creative Spirit Team Goes Green

Gazans experience difficult living conditions in crowded areas with few green spaces, resulting in a lack of environmental awareness. This has a negative impact on students’ health and well-being. Alaa AlAgha and Mai Qalaja from Dar Al Salam Private School have noticed this problem and how it affects students’ understanding of the environment. They participated in the Acting As Innovator Program Round I and decided to address this issue by using their innovation skills and available resources.
 
Alaa and Mai planned to enhance students’ appreciation for nature by involving them in gardening and utilizing raw and recycled materials to promote environmental sustainability. They conducted meetings and surveys with school staff, parents, and students to understand the genuine needs of the school community. Their project involved establishing a school garden where students would participate in both theoretical and hands-on agricultural activities.
 
With 30 first and fifth graders forming a team named “Creative Spirit”, Alaa and Mai led the students in collecting various containers for recycling into pots. Assisted by the art teacher, the students decorated and painted the recycled containers. Alaa and Mai then guided the students in exploring plant biology and dissection with the science teacher, planting in the recycled containers, and arranging them in the designated area. As part of the project, Alaa and Mai organized an outdoor activity, taking the students on a brief visit to a local nursery to select plants for their school garden.

Alaa and Mai were eager to engage students in every aspect of the project to boost their sense of responsibility towards their school and community, ultimately fostering their self-confidence. The students were enthusiastic about learning farming techniques, recycling materials, and tending to plants. Their friends and family also showed excitement as they heard about the new things the students were discovering. The remarkable success of the project drew the school management’s attention, leading to the approval of Phase 2. This phase will involve setting up a hydroponic farm at the school to engage students from all grades in various activities.
 
The AAAI program aims to train 400 teachers from public, private, and UNRWA schools in the West Bank and Gaza over 3 years. The first round involved 24 teachers from different parts of Palestine. Forming 12 teams and supported by 8 mentors, the participants developed various creative projects under two main themes: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Integration and Application of STE(A)M Approach in Education.
 
Please click here for more information about Alaa and Mai and their students’ project.
 
For more information about the AAAI program, please click here.