Prairie Summer

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YouthCaN Med had our first 2006 hike on Sunday, March 26 to the Ehden Nature Reserve in northern Lebanon. We had the most beautiful weather and three buses of students from all over the country (I think about 50-60 in total). I was excited because it is the first time I have been in that region and I got to see the famous Lebanese Cedars!

We left on the early side, especially since that day was the same day we turned the clocks forward and hour for Daylight Savings Time, so although we met at 8:30 it was really 7:30. Luckily everyone REMEMBERED to change their clocks and we left on time!

Two of the buses left from Beirut and drove about an hour and a half north, where we met with a third group of students and headed to the trails. We hiked up for about an hour, encountering one cute lizard, tons of beautiful flowers, trees and assorted mosses and greenery. Spring is well underway here and there are sprouting flower bulbs and buds everywhere.

Once we reached a high enough altitude, we also began to see the Cedars. And snow! Which of course resulted in several snowball fights. Along the trail there was also a natural spring where fresh water flows right out of the mountain and they say it is clean (I hope so, since we all drank from it!)

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As the H5N1 ‘Bird Flu’ virus spreads around the world, people are wondering how concerned to be and what precautions should be taken to be safe. There are many myths and fears surrounding the virus and the cautions of a pandemic and to address these issues head on, the HBS Ecology Club in Saida, Lebanon, organized a seminar at their school.

The active YouthCaN students prepared a PowerPoint presentation and invited three doctors to discuss the realities of bird flu. The guest speakers presented and then held a lively question-and-answer session.

It was also Teachers’ Day and the students surprised the teachers with a song and mugs containing a “Happy Teachers’ Day” card.

While the seminar was conducted in Arabic it was good practice for my listening skills and after the session I met with a few groups of YouthCaN students from different schools. We discussed their projects and it was neat to actually meet them. I think it helped them to be able to ask questions and put a face with my name, plus get them more excited about the upcoming conference (April 10!)

Here are some pictures from the seminar, which was held at the Bahaa Hariri Complex in Saida.

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Excitement is growing as we continue to plan and there were 19 people at the latest meeting.

The first hike will be to Ehden Preserve on Sunday, March 26, moved one week so it will not interfere with exams in some schools.

Earth Day activities will be focused on Saturday, April 29 because April 22 is Easter weekend. We will initiate national awareness actions and campaigns that schools across the country can unify behind and participate in to promote NO SMOKING INDOORS. This project will be presented at the YouthCaN conference but activities will continue throughout the year.

Valley International School (VIS) has decided their local river clean-up day will be held Friday, March 31. The river along their school has become polluted and they want to clean it, but a similar campaign was undertaken three years ago and now the river is again in need of a clean-up initiative. To combat this, the other key aspect of their YouthCaN project is going to focus on awareness. This information campaign will help everyone at their school understand the impact they are having on the river and how to maintain it once the cleaning has taken place.

The Hajj Bahaa School Ecology Club is hosting a seminar on bird flu and its impact on our food and eating habits. It will be held Friday, March 10 at the Bahaa Hariri Complex in Saida from 10:00 to 1:00 and everyone is invited to attend.

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Moving on to conference planning, we outlined plans for the opening including a video presentation, speeches and a skit. These activities will each be coordinated by different schools and students. The skit is building on the internationally selected YouthCaN logo, which is a crystal ball, and will feature a fortune teller looking into the future of the earth. We also began planning the closing ceremony, which will hopefully include a presentation, awarding of certificates, announcements and a folk dance.

Videoconferences with Egypt and the U.S. will also be a part of this year’s conference and we discussed designing a combined activity with students in New York that students can discuss during the live videoconference. Topic ideas for this will be discussed at the next meeting.

I have also designed and distributed registration forms for the conference, which for the first time will be all electronically submitted. This will make the process much easier and save trees too!

Saving the *fun* for last, we also voted on the eight T-shirt designs that were submitted. The winning logo is this one….

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And our next meeting is March 23!