Sustainability Winter Camp

Camp Overview

The Sustainability Winter Camp is a program aimed at helping youth understand what it means to be sustainable through fun, interactive and educational activities following various themes such as: agriculture, food, energy, and water.

The camp will be 3 days long, each based around a theme with a duration of 4.5 hours daily from 10 am to 2:30 pm. The camp will be repeated 3 times on consecutive weeks.

• Date:
  • Camp session 1: 13, 14, 15 December 2020
  • Camp session 2: 20, 21, 22 December 2020
  • Camp session 3: 27, 28, 29 December 2020
• Time: 10 am - 2:30 pm    
• Location: Emirates Soil Museum, ICBA    
• Ages: 8 - 16 years old    
• Participants: groups of 6 - 10 maximum

Goals

1. Develop an understanding of sustainability concepts.
2. Instill respect for our natural environment.
3. Raise awareness about daily actions that can contribute positively towards the environment.
4. Encourage youth to engage with their families and circles in daily sustainable actions.

Program

Day 1 - Agriculture

Activity 1: Composting & Artistic planting

Participants will engage in discussions about composting to know how to segregate waste and what can be composted and what can’t. They will create compost layers and fabricate the right bins to collect their food waste in while understanding the recycling process and organic food production.

Activity 2: Permaculture & Vertical Gardening

Participants will be introduced to permaculture and biodiversity. They will create layers to grow plants vertically in a water efficient manner to produce green walls and understand the different environmental agriculture techniques.

Activity 3: Tree Planting & Introduction to ICBA

Participants will be introduced to ICBA and learn more about agriculture in the UAE. The tree planted will also enrich and protect the soil as well as offset (your) carbon emissions!

• Introduction to ICBA
• Tour of the Emirates Soil Museum & ICBA experimental farm
• Tree planting of 1 UAE native tree per pair

Day 2 - Natural Resources

Activity 1: Solar Energy & Oven Fabrication

Participants will fabricate a solar oven in order to cook and view its effectiveness as well as environmental impact. Participants will realize the possibility of using renewable energy sources. They will see a link between their personal use of electricity and how it’s produced as well as experiment with solar panels.

Activity 2: Self Watering Systems and Hydroponics

Participants will grow fish and cultivate plants by setting up a system where plants have roots directly in the water without the need of soil. They will up-cycle material to make an Aquaponics system from scratch. They will also gain knowledge about what Aquaponics and Hydroponics are, and what components they consists of.

Activity 3: Soil characteristics and how they attain them

Students build an understanding of soil properties and how to best manage different soils. They also learn about the factors behind these properties and the plants that prefer them.

• Identify the properties of your soil through a series of experiments and record your data
• Design your farm and plant selection according to your findings
• Present your farm designs to the group

Day 3 - Eco Actions

Activity 1: Sustainable Fashion & Upcycling Bird Feeder

Participants will learn the concept of upcycling and the importance of the 3 Rs (Reuse, Reduce and Recycle) by teaching them how we can turn boxes that we don’t use into bird feeders.

Activity 2: Upcycling mini foosball game

Participants will learn how to assemble their own mini foosball using engineering design and up-cycling techniques.

Activity 3: Halophytic Kitchen Lab

This program aims to raise public awareness on healthy cooking, healthy nutrition and benefits of halophytic plants cultivated in a desert environment. The activity is run under the EXPO LIVE program entitled: “From Desert Farm to Fork: Value chain development for innovative halophyte-based food products”.

• Food security and nutrition presentation
• Cook your own meal using halophytic plants with Chef Bilal Hassan!

Precautionary Measures

Before your visit, please check the precautionary measures taken to ensure your safety here. 

Additional Details

• Booking closes 48 hours prior to camp start date

• Lunch is only provided on DAY 3. For the rest of the program, participants are encouraged to bring their own lunchbox. Vending machine is available for snacks.

• Price: 300 per participant for the 3 days