Two buses carrying high school and primary school students arrived on the Sohar beach armed with 150 garbage bags and a plan. The Al Batinah International School students had a mission to accomplish; the second annual Beach Clean Up was about to begin.

 

Students worked tirelessly for three hours to clean up the beach and about 150 garbage bags were necessary to do the job! The students worked all along the beach, scrutinizing every plot of land for rubbish and trash. One teacher even found an X-ray.

 

The mission of the trip, like always, was to make the environment a better and more enjoyable place for citizens of Oman and animals alike. Though it casts the work of the school in a positive light, it was not so pleasant for those cleaning up as it is a dirty business!

 

The event was linked to the CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) programme which is run at Al Batinah International School, coordinated by Jean-Francois Provencher, and encourages students to run projects to help the community. The cleanup project itself was organized and led by a Grade 9 student with aid from other students and teachers who are members of the school’s ‘Eco Club’ and ‘Roots and Shoots’ club. Roots and Shoots is an international organization dedicated to helping schoolchildren beautify and clean up their environment at a local level, as well as look after animals and help people in need.

 

The students of Al Batinah International School hope to motivate and inspire people to keep the beautiful Omani beaches clean; not only for themselves, but for the wildlife that inhabits the area too.