As part of their environmental awareness activities, the Students Affairs Department at College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) participated in a coastal clean-up at Al Zubarah beach in collaboration with Seashore Recycling and Sustainability Centre and Qatar Museums.
The initiative took place in the presence of Salem Saeed al-Mohannadi, CEO of Seashore Group, Faisal al-Naimi, director of the Department of Archaeology, Qatar Museums, and Dr Salem al-Naemi, acting president of CNA-Q.
Dignitaries and volunteers started their day by visiting Al Zubarah fort, a historic Qatari military fortress built under the guidance of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani in 1938. They also toured a temporary exhibition titled 'Daily Life', and then headed towards Al Zubarah archaeological site, a place inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List.
Before the clean-up, students were briefed about beach clean-up best practices and Covid-19 precautionary measures. Group leaders made sure that students were wearing their mask and gloves, and were keeping physical distance. Participants were specifically requested to look for small plastic debris which have a huge impact on marine life.
CNA-Q students participate in Al Zubarah archaeological site clean-up.
Promoting environmental awareness is key at CNA-Q. The College offers a diploma in Environmental Health, a programme that prepares graduates to become environmental health officers and public health inspectors required to monitor, control, manage, promote and manipulate environmental factors that have an impact on human health.
Dr al-Naemi noted, “This is an opportunity for our students to learn and become more active in their community. Sustainability is the key to a better tomorrow and the driver for innovation, and that is the message we want to convey to all participants. We hope that this activity will also give them the chance to connect with their heritage and value the past to build a prosperous future.”
“This initiative aims to join efforts across Qatar, in order to build a common sustainability platform. An action that will involve different community target groups to raise awareness about the environment and the importance of keeping archaeological sites and beaches clean,” Faisal al-Naimi explained.
“The group is working relentlessly to promote sustainability across Qatar, in line with the policies and procedures set by the country. We work on fostering a bigger involvement of the community in events and programmes, to increase awareness and create a sustainability culture among the public. Protecting our environment is a pressing issue, and we want everyone to be part of the solution,” al-Mohannadi added.