TABUK: The first Saudi Environmental Week, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, has come to an end in Tabuk.The event, operating under the motto “protecting our environment for our society’s well-being,” saw several awareness-raising initiatives and guidance events hosted throughout the region, and was launched by the undersecretary for Tabuk, Ahmed Al-Hujaili.Over the course of the week, residents had been able to visit an environmental camp at Prince Fahd bin Sultan Park, where they could pick up gifts, plants and flowers, an exhibition at Al-Makan Mall featuring a visual display on environment awareness, and events put on by the Green Tabuk Association, Tabuk Technical College and the Saudi Meteorology Commission.Practical activities also took place, including seed planting at Tabuk University campus and wildflower cultivation along many of the region’s highways. The week also featured lectures from environmentalists, most prominently at the ministry’s Tabuk branch and at Tabuk University.In Haql, the town celebrated Saudi Environmental Week 2019 by launching a volunteer project, featuring 500 students, which planted thousands of trees and seedlings and helped to clean up several local beaches. Al-Bad’, meanwhile, welcomed the week with a series of events, including rejuvenating local parks and planting trees on the outskirts of the town, strategically placed to reduce desertification.In Amlaj, activities focused on how to use and recycle wastewater to irrigate gardens, along with protecting and cleaning the region’s beaches, which are a protected habitat for nesting sea turtles. Desert trees were also replanted, with many illegally logged for firewood.The governors of Duba and Al-Wajh also used the week to launch tree-planting schemes and beach-cleaning exercises, while in Tayma the local governor, Saad bin Naif Al-Sudairi, announced that the regional government would begin to use more environment-friendly vehicles.
