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Environmental activists across the kingdom have a chance to inspire others to follow in their footsteps and cut their carbon footprint during a competition to crown the kingdom’s eco-champion.
The competition, being held until June 30, will reward the top sustainable supporters in three categories – the greatest number of environmentally-friendly initiatives, most innovative initiative and best original idea for an individual or community-based initiative.
The competition kicked off on Saturday as the United Nations marked World Environment Day and Bahrain-based organisation Srinkhala, in collaboration with Dr Anamica Bhattacharya, launched its month-long Environmental Awareness Campaign.
“The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is ‘Reimagine. Recreate. Restore.’ as this year marks the beginning of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,” explained Srinkhala co-founder Rekha Utham.
“We want to encourage people to become more environmentally-considerate while also highlighting members of the community from whom they can take inspiration.”
As part of the campaign, Dr Anamica has also curated 15 session of environment-focused workshops conducted by 14 experts, ranging from making art and upcycling to gardening in Bahrain’s climate.
The workshops will be conducted every Monday and Thursday from 4pm to 6pm, via Zoom and Srinkhala’s Facebook page.
“Being a nature enthusiast and researcher, I have always loved to study the environment and its resources closely,” added Dr Anamica.
“Environmental degradation is a global concern that has always deeply concerned me. So, I thought a virtual awareness programme would be perfect for these Covid-19 times, to nurture a sense of responsibility for preserving the natural resources of this beautiful island and to encourage everyone to move towards a more sustainable living.”
The campaign will be conducted on Bahrain-based online community Srinkhala’s platform, which was founded by Rekha and her friend Usha Ramesh, who will be joined by Nisha Kotwani.
The workshops kicked off on World Environment Day with a workshop by environmental campaigner Kai Miethig who talked about minimalism and had a world of tips and ideas for those looking to cut their carbon footprint.
“Convenience is the enemy of sustainability,” said the German founder of the WAISTE project, which plans to improve waste management with the help of artificial intelligence.
“In order to be more minimalist, we need to say ‘no’ loudly and clearly to single-use or unnecessary items, especially plastic ones, wherever possible. We also need to ask ourselves if we really need something before buying it because the most sustainable item is the one we don’t buy.
“Thirdly, we need to start separating recyclable and compostable items at home, and find ways to recycle and reuse as much as possible.”
An example would be to bring your own bottle, bag, cutlery and more, when out and about, instead of relying on plastic.
This suggestion was echoed by undercover environmentalist Jonathan D’Souza, who talked about how his family has taken to bringing their own containers when ordering takeout during the Covid-19 pandemic.
More discussions on similar ideas are set to take place during the 12 sessions scheduled.
Those who have their own ideas or would like to submit their initiatives for the eco-champion competitions can do so by sharing ‘selfies’ of themselves with their concepts on Srinkhala’s social media or contact Dr Anamica by emailing anamicab@gmail.com or WhatsApp: 34136508.
For details, follow @srinkhala2017 on Instagram.
