Green Hope in Palestine
Lajee Center Opens Rooftop Garden in Aida Camp_Palestine
This story is what it's all about. As humans we have an innate need to connect with Nature, however, in some places that pathway is blocked.
This is not a green roof with high design technology or lush verdant gardens. This is a green roof that provides hope in a war torn territory.
Lajee Center and 1for3, last week, launched the Rooftop Green Space in Lajee Centerof Aida refugee camp, in Bethlehem, in order to create space for crops and greenery, contribute to water management, food production, compost recycling, improvement of air quality and more.
The pioneering project in Palestine, initiated by the director of the environment unit at Lajee Center, Shatha Alazza, was funded by Grassroots International and the 1for3 organization, and was worked on by gardeners as well as partners and families of children in the camp for weeks.
On Wednesday, 27th of March, the center held an Environmental Festival to celebrate the opening, hosting directors of public and private schools as well as representatives of Bethlehem’s environmental centers in order to promote the idea of rooftop gardens and increase green space in the city.
Faced with the dire situation of lack of space in the camp, director of the Shatha Al Azza came up with the idea of the rooftop gardens as a way to create sustainable environmental management and the option of sustainable development, which are now a global concern.
“Environmental changes, mainly due to human activities, are threatening the fragile economies of developing countries such as Palestine and the future of our planet on a daily basis; Solid emissions from domestic as well as industrial and transport activities, are at the root of proven climate change and its negative impacts in many environmental sectors,” Alazza said in her introductory speech.
“That is why we recycle materials, both organic and non-organic to improve waste management. We also promote cultivation or crops and water testing. All these different methods were explained to the public on information sheets strategically displayed next to the different exhibits on the roof top garden of Lajee,” she added.
GREEN WARRIORS IN PALESTINE _ we salute your collective acheivements.
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