Enviromental Education Program in Afghanistan

A Non-Profit Organization - Established 1993

• Peace Education
• Computer Education Program
• Environmental Education
• Teacher Training
• Community School Committees (Shuras)

Environmental Education

Awareness of, and concern for, the environment is a crucial part of understanding one's relationship with the natural world. How actions we take in our life affect the environment and how the environment itself affects our lives is a lesson that often goes untaught; and therefore gravely misunderstood. The Dalai Lama has been quoted as saying " It is our collective and individual responsibility to…preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live." This responsibility is reflected in attempts to establish environmental legislation in Afghanistan that seeks to protect forests, wildlife, the air, and waterways. Based on this philosophy, Help the Afghan Children (HTAC) has been piloting an Environmental Awareness Program (EAP) within its sponsored schools in Afghanistan for the last two years.

The EAP program focuses on five types of intervention: a) direct teaching of sustainable environment concepts to children b) training teachers in environmental awareness, c) cultivating school gardens, d) taking students on "eco-trips," and e) organizing school environmental fairs.

The direct teaching aspect of the program entails a multi-level environmental awareness curriculum. The curriculum focuses on teaching the children about general environmental concepts, the interaction between an individual and different components of the ecosystem, local environmental problems, and ways in which students can contribute to solving those problems. We also train teachers on the topic of teaching environmental awareness and incorporating sustainability techniques in their classrooms. The training concentrates on learning key concepts in environmental awareness, understanding the psychological needs of children, building their enthusiasm, and guiding them through exercises and experiences into a greater understanding of their natural environment. We also seek to establish school gardens where students cultivate indigenous plants, flowers, and vegetables, take students on "eco-trips" to bring them closer to nature, and school environmental fairs where students can discuss and creatively express their environmental concerns.