UAE’s Zayed Sustainability Prize encourages students to transform water-starved schools into oasis of hope in Morocco

Al Amal Junior High School is a rural boarding school located in the small town of Sidi Boubker, Rehamna Province, Morocco, and is one of the few regional schools with an academic focus on agriculture. The school garden is a living laboratory for academic enrichment, providing opportunities to grow plants, observe and conduct experiments.

However, lack of water had a negative impact on the garden. In summer, plants die from lack of water, leaving a clearing that deprives students of learning opportunities.

Al Amal Year 11 student Khadija Tanan said: “The most important lesson we learned from this experience is the idea of ​​conservation. Water is scarce in our region, so we must conserve and not waste the water we use in our daily lives. “

But more than plants, students themselves often face long, hot days at school without access to fresh drinking water – which affects their health and ability to focus and learn. The lack of water meant the school’s boarding facilities had to remain closed, forcing the more than 100 students who lived 28 kilometres away to make a long and arduous daily commute.

“Summer days can be long and hard until we have a second well. Coming to school makes me less excited. Now we have enough water – and wonderful gardens to enjoy, it makes everything beautiful. I’m proud to be part of this project – where we learned about traditional irrigation and very modern sustainable energy – that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” said Qouissem.

After learning about the Zayed Sustainability Prize, students and teachers started thinking about innovative solutions to water scarcity. They use modern science and technology while using local wisdom and water harvesting practices to solve this problem.

This proposal to generate water from clean energy and sustainably revitalize school gardens won them the 2020 Zayed Sustainability Award. Their innovative water supply and conservation plan was successfully implemented in May 2021.

The project rehabilitated an existing but defunct water well located near the school to provide drinking water. They installed solar panels to provide the energy needed to pump water from the well to the school.

“The well now provides more than 6 tons of water per day. It supports existing [shared with the community]so we should no longer suffer from water shortages,” said Abderrahim Monsir, a science teacher at the school.

This year, 650 students enjoyed the restored well water. Now, thanks to a reliable water supply, the school expects to welcome 750 students next year.

The new well has also enabled Al Amal to open its boarding facility, which has been unused since it opened in 2016 due to water shortages. It now has 90 students and plans to enroll 135 students next year.

“We learned the difference between traditional hand-dug wells and machine-dug new wells. We discovered the value of groundwater and the importance of protecting it,” Tanan shared.

The school built a groundwater collection pond (matfia) to store rainwater. In Sidi Boubker, where the school is located, rainwater is scarce but often wasted.

The school now has a second, larger garden with 11 medicinal and aromatic plants, sown by students to withstand the heat. Water old and new gardens from underground basins using drip irrigation and automatic irrigation monitors.

The construction of the basin also provides students with a first-hand learning experience.

“We learned about an old practice that is still widely used at Rehamna – also used in our school, but in a modern way. We learned about the dimensions of the underground basin, the materials used to build it, the pumps used to pump the water species, and how it relates to solar energy,” Qouissem said.

So far, the school has managed to store more than 120 tonnes of water from the harvest basin.

“The Zayed Sustainability Award opens up great prospects for our school. Not only has it enabled us to implement our projects, overcome difficulties and provide our students with excellent learning opportunities, but it has also enabled us to apply for more than project, and we managed to secure funding to build the water tower,” said Mr.

“As a result of the award, different associations and partners see what our students have achieved and want to help our program grow. We strongly encourage other schools and associations to apply for the Zayed Sustainability Award and empower their students Take responsibility for their projects,” he said.