By Valerie Cox
The American Community School of Abu Dhabi was honoured with a visit from one of their heroines Dr. Jane Goodall, who came with the Executive Director of Education for the Jane Goodall Foundation, Tara Golshan. Concern and care of the environment is a strong component of the Service Learning Program at ACS, with many of the older students involved or even creating projects to protect our environment.
Four years ago, attending a film entitled Journey with Jane, Channin Becker, a third grade teacher at ACS, was inspired to create a Roots and Shoots programme for the elementary division of ACS. Since then, the group has been a dynamic partner in the environmental movement. The third to fifth grade students had the opportunity to bring Jane up to date on their accomplishments this year.
These included planting trees with the Ghaf Institute, researching water usage, installing automatic taps at the school and raising funds to conduct “Bus Raids” for workers. They also collected ring tabs for the Phillipine Children’s Fund, gathered gently used clothes to distribute to those in need, and created “Trashon” hats to add a little fun to the serious business of saving the planet!
ACS club teachers Channin Becker and Nandita Saxena, along with ACS Service Learning coordinator Anne Russell, and Service Learning Assistant Leena Bahoshy, were honoured at NYU Abu Dhabi with an award from the Jane Goodall Foundation.
The NYU Abu Dhabi event was sponsored by the Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi and included the other Abu Dhabi schools such as British School of Al Khubairat, the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bangladesh Islamia School, the Indian School of Abu Dhabi, Al Muna School, the Emirates Private School and Al Mushrif School. All the schools set up a table showcasing their Roots and Shoots projects. The displays were creative and inspirational; we definitely look forward to some collaborative projects!
For the students, the main the highlight was an opportunity to share their projects and thoughts with Dr. Jane. The ACS students took turns explaining their successful endeavors. She quietly told them about her concerns for the environment and how, working together, we can make a difference every day.
For the parents and staff at the event the highlight was watching Jane interact with the passionate young people. She acknowledged their hard work, affirmed their beliefs, and stressed that they should never be overwhelmed because they are part of a larger family of environmentally aware citizens.
The Roots and Shoots members concluded the day’s celebration with a rousing environmental “RAP” song and birthday cake for Jane Goodalls’ 80th birthday!
