To counter the dangerous effects of harmful human actions against nature and the environment, a group of Lebanese University’s students established a constructive developmental project: The Environmental Club.
Overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. These are only some of the infamous ways that humans have been destroying the natural world around them.
According to the statistics of specialized organizations affiliated with the United Nations, the world went through more than 10 major environmental crises, most of which were caused by reckless human behavior, in 2019 alone.
This reality, which becomes clearer every year, is part of what gave birth to the Lebanese University’s Environmental Club. The initiative is run by volunteer students and involves many activities that aim to restore a healthy environment.
Established and based in Branch 3 of the Lebanese University‘s Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Tripoli, the club aims to achieve its ultimate goal of protecting and developing its surroundings.
The plan of action includes:
- Waste sorting and recycling.
- Driving more attention to potable water and fighting pollution.
- Sowing seedlings and flowers at the university and its entrances, and in different areas of Tripoli.
- Promoting environmental health education and encouraging students to consume natural resources responsibly.
- Discussing environmental problems with specialists and concerned parties.
- Preserving the natural and historical heritage in the North.
- Cooperating with various environmental clubs and community bodies and coordinating activities with them.
Additionally, the Environmental Club has taken the initiative to organize several awareness campaigns in Tripoli over the years, including “The Green Citizen” in 2018 and its latest “Students Against Coronavirus” campaign in 2020.
Through these activities, the club is spreading environmental awareness and encouraging people to take initiative to help protect and develop their environment, Mr. Rabih Sarmout, the head of the club, told The961.
After nearly two years of progress since its inception in 2018, the club is planned to expand and turn into a public environmental institution in the future.
This comes after Branch 3 of the Faculty of Public Health recently joined it.
On that note, the Lebanese University, which has ranked recently among the top in the world, has been contributing to the health of the citizens with its med students volunteering in the fight against the pandemic at Rafic Hariri Hospital.
The university has also equipped one of its Microbiological laboratories to serve this national fight. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has just added it to the list of adopted labs for COVID-19 testing.
*Images used in this article belong to the Lebanese University’s Environmental Club.