Dispatch from Kuwait: Lime Trees Spur Inquiry in a Desert School
August 30, 2015
Note: We periodically receive updates from Natural Start member The Blue Waves School in Kuwait, and we thought you would be interested to hear about this project in their summer program this year, edited slightly for clarity. Enjoy!
As you probably know, the weather in Kuwait is very hot, especially at this time of the year. Temperatures can reach 136° F (58C°). In addition, fresh water is scarce. Our children at the Blue Waves School were curious about how the lime trees planted around our school are growing, and whether the fruits were in a healthy condition.
Our teachers explained that it’s important to plant trees and other plants in neighborhoods, schools, and streets to help reduce the temperature and to provide habitats for birds and insects. But, we also told them that we need to use irrigation systems to water trees, since we have so little fresh water. We talked about the need to balance the need to plant trees with the importance of saving water. In this way, we were able to introduce sustainability in a way the children could understand.
Finally, the children harvested fresh limes from our trees. It was a fabulous community experience. The activity highlighted the challenges of maintaining trees in a place like Kuwait, but also made the children aware of the ecological benefits of trees and how to preserve their local environment through caring for current trees and planting new ones. Enjoy our pictures below.