On Wednesday, January 21, the American Community School of Abu Dhabi Roots and Shoots Club was honored by an award from the Jane Goodall Foundation. The students, their club teachers Channin Becker and Nandita Saxena, along with ACS Service Learning coordinator Anne Russell, and Service Learning Assistant Leena Bahoshy, enjoyed a morning event at NYU Abu Dhabi.
The event, hosted by NYU Abu Dhabi and sponsored by the Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi, included the other Abu Dhabi schools with a Roots and Shoots program. The other schools participating were the British School of Al Khubairat, the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bangladesh Islamai School, the Indian School of Abu Dhabi, Al Muna School, Emirates Private School and Al Mushrif School. All the schools set up a table showcasing their Roots and Shoots projects. The displays were creative and inspirational; we definitely look forward to some collaborative projects!
For the students, the highlight of the event was an opportunity to share their projects with the Roots and Shoots founder Jane Goodall. The ACS students took turns explaining their successful endeavors: installing new automatic faucets to save water, raising funds for bus raids, creative projects with re-cycled materials, and local tree planting.
For the parents and staff at the event the highlight was watching Jane interact with the passionate young people. She acknowledged their hard work, affirmed their beliefs, and stressed that they should never be overwhelmed because they are part of a larger family of environmentally aware citizens.
Later in the day Jane Goodall and Tara Golshan, Executive Director, Education, Jane Goodall Foundation UK, honored ACS with a personal visit. Jane spoke to current and former Roots and Shoots members and the High School Green Team about her passion for the environment, work with chimpanzees and her confidence in young people to expand environmental awareness. She then asked for questions from the 3rd graders and held an interview with members of the ACS Green Team.
The Roots and Shoots members concluded the day’s celebration with a rousing environmental rap song and birthday cake for Jane Goodalls’ 80th birthday.
Just reading this and looking at the pictures reminds me of what a fun day it was! Thanks you Jane, Tara, Jasmina, Maya and Suparna for all making it happen.