Doha College Secondary School has recently been awarded their second green flag by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The college is the first, and so far, only school in Qatar to have been awarded a green flag, and is also the first international school to achieve two green flags awarded directly by FEE.

To achieve this impressive feat, Doha College had to influence and change mindsets and attitudes, as well as engage students and the community in many environmentally-focused campaigns and activities. The initiatives focused on four areas – waste minimisation, marine and coast awareness, climate change and litter:

  • Regular paper recycling
  • Meatless Monday
  • Second hand book drives
  • Going paper-free for school documents
  • Collecting shredded paper for Qatar Animal Welfare Society
  • Litter monitoring in Year 7

Doha College’s biggest campaign this year was the ‘Ocean Awareness Month’, which involved PSHE lessons on plastics in the ocean, a beach clean up at Al Zubara, a plastic-free day in the tuck shop, special screenings of ‘Blue Planet 2’ and student-led assemblies.

The committee is led by geography teachers Naomi Capewell and Brian Kerr, who worked on curricular developments for the integration of environmentally-focused lessons within various subjects throughout the year.

 

The emphasis on environmental issues closely aligns with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to direct the country towards a balance between developmental needs and the protection of its natural environment, whether land, sea or air.

To find out more about the Eco-School status of Doha College, which was achieved together with their first green flag in 2016, visit their homepage at dohacollege.com.