spring 2012
Editorial
No.32
The Newsletter of Ibsar, the Nature Conservation Center for Sustainable Futures
An Exceptional Experience At Batloun I do not belong to the young generation who was brought up ‘puffing out candles and cutting delicious cakes’ on their birthdays with family members and friends. Our parents had neither the time nor the money to throw a birthday party during war; and it made no difference to us. But the 28th of April last spring was an exceptional and rich experience for me, as well as for my kids. It was the first time I celebrate my birthday in a different and genius way. I felt I was born again and that the ‘wall of ice’ that stood between me and the people of the mountain was broken. Thanks to Ibsar, Dar Nelson, the Municipality of Batloun, and the kind-hearted and welcoming villagers who stood in line under the hot sun to welcome us, I had the opportunity, along with a big group of well-known writers, poets, painters, novelists and media people, to come from Beirut to the village of Batloun to plant trees and offer books to young students from the Batloun Secondary School. Under the banner ‘Writers’ Forest’, I, with many others, had the chance to discover one of the beautiful and still unspoiled Shouf villages. I had the impression that its people live in harmony with unpolluted nature, air and water. They befriend the greenery of their village: really, you can easily breathe up there! For the first time in my life, I planted a small tree with the help of a young girl to whom I later offered one of my books. The student -her name is Malak Rashid- will take care and water the tree that will bear my name. After two years, we will revisit the forest, and I will be eager to meet Malak again and hear her comment on my book. I was so excited to see Malak smile as she started reading my book during the generous lunch that was offered by the Batloun Cultural Club. Ibsar gave me the chance, not only to witness and experience the first ‘marriage’ between a book and a tree, but also to meet key figures in the world of art and writing. These were: Emily Nasrallah, Wassim Kays, Hassan Daoud, Sleiman Bakhti (owner and director of Dar Nelson), Sabah Zouein, painter Amin Al Basha, Cesar Nammour, Wadeh Saadeh, Michel Saadeh, Sonia Beiruti, Ismail Fakeh, Mangana El Hajj, and others. I really hope that Ibsar will transfer the idea of ‘Writers’ Forest’ to other villages in Lebanon, for this genuine project is the first of its kind ever made, and it enhances relations between ‘people of the pen’ and ‘people of the tree’ who are almost identical with one exception: the first uses ink, the second toils in soil. Thank you Ibsar for making my birthday an exceptional experience. Ziad Kaj
Celebrated in more than 190 countries around the world, ‘Mother Earth Day’ invites people to reconnect with Mother Nature at the start of the spring season. It stresses the interdependence that exists among human beings, other living species, and our planet. Ibsar observed ‘Mother Earth Day’ at AREC (Agricultural and Education Center) on Sunday March 26 as part of its Power of Planting program with the help of fifteen AUB students from the Civil Engineering Society.
Explaining the concept behind Ibsar boxes
Transferring seedlings to ‘Ibsar Boxes’
Civil Engineering Society students
Baldati Bia’ti 2012 Project
Mother Earth Day
Ibsar Celebrates its 5th Annual ‘Mother Earth Day’
Villages Working for a Green Lebanon: The ‘Baldati Bia’ti’ 2012 Project For the second year in a row, Ibsar launched its ‘Baldati Bi’ati’ 2012 project which aims at shedding light on the important role of municipalities in preserving nature on a local level. The project is a collaborative effort between Ibsar and participating villages in order to produce ‘green maps’ based on information collected by local committees within these villages.
Dr. Talhouk explaining the project to village representatives
BVA booklet and maps
The launching ceremony of ‘Baldati Bi’ati’ 2012 took place at Al Safir Heliopolitan Hotel, Raouche, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012 under the guidance of Dr. Salma Talhouk, Chair of the Landscape Design and Ecosystems Management Department at AUB and founding member of Ibsar. 14 villages from several regions across Lebanon joined the launching ceremony, where they were introduced to the project through a workshop and through two documentaries on the successful ‘Baldati Bi’ati’ initiative that took place in 2011. Participating villages will form councils of 12 to 15 members of various backgrounds, who will work with Ibsar on collecting information, identifying the villages’ main natural landmarks, and pinpointing their current and future environmental initiatives. One of the main results of this process will be ‘green maps’ (published on www.greenmap.org) which reveal a village’s main natural and cultural landmarks using internationally recognized icons and identifies significant future projects. The ‘Baldati Bi’ati’ project is sponsored by the Coca Cola Foundation and is under the patronage of the General Directorate of Municipalities at the Ministry of Interior.
Activities for that day consisted of transplanting one year-old native seedlings from their initial nursery boxes into ‘Ibsar Boxes’ which facilitate seedling growth and development thanks to their capacity to circulate air. Under the guidance of Khaled Sleem, Ibsar’s field coordinator, about 300 seedlings were carefully transplanted which included various native species such as the Ash tree (Fraxinus angustifolia, ) رهزم رادرد, Turkish oak (Quercus cerris, )رذع, Carob (Ceratonia siliqua, )بوّرخ, Nettle (Celtis australis, )صارق, and Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum, ) قيرزمز. Ibsar will be raising more awareness for next year’s ‘Mother Earth Day’ in hope of increasing people’s responsibility towards nature and its ecosystems. Methodolgy explained
Lining up boxes for the new nursery 2
Baldati Bia’ti 2012 participants 3
Wednesday April 4 saw AUB’s West Hall and Green Oval areas packed with students, as NGOs and community engagement centers set up their stands to promote their social and environmental causes in this year’s Civic and Volunteering Fair. In line with our belief that the conservation of nature begins with individuals who are passionate about their natural heritage, Ibsar was present at the fair to welcome volunteers into its programs. Hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS), the fair provides an incentive for students to dedicate some of their time to a worthy cause.
Writers’ Forest
Volunteer Fair 2012
AUB Civic & Volunteering Fair 2012
“Lebanese Writers’ Forest: Plant a Word, Plant a Tree Together” at the Batloun Cultural Club, Shouf
The planting site
The “Writers’ Forest” is a two-year project initiated on April 28, 2012 in Batloun (Shouf ), where 27 Lebanese writers and poets planted wild native trees at the Batloun Cultural Club along with students aged 12 to 14 from the Batloun Secondary School. The children committed to providing post-planting care for two years following this event. “Writers’ Forest” enabled children to use literature as a medium for engaging in nature while gaining an understanding of planting practices. The event was a partnership between Ibsar, the Dar Nelson publishing house, and the Batloun Cultural Club, and was funded by Bank Med.
Intern Maya Kfoury at the Ibsar stand
The theme for this year’s fair was the sustainable use of resources reflecting our center's mission in promoting and conserving the sustainable use of biodiversity. Ibsar stood out with its colorful stand with posters of the center’s activities, and invited participants to know more about its natural SAGE products (formerly, Ibsar Boutique products).
Students welcoming writers
Participating writers
Writer and student planting together
Lunch at the Batloun Cultural Club
In addition to getting familiar with Ibsar’s seven different programs, volunteers were invited to plant a Laurel seed ( Laurus nobilis, ) غارin painted pots made of reused plastic water bottles. Each pot contained instructions on post-planting care such as watering frequency, transfer of the Laurel seedling to a bigger pot, and future planting in soil. The fair was a big success with over 15 volunteers signing up to join Ibsar’s green efforts.
Inviting participants to plant a laurel seed 4
Welcoming participants
Participants were greeted upon their arrival by the head of the Batloun Cultural Club, its members, as well as representatives of the Batloun community, with planting activities starting at 11:00 a.m. All 140 participants gathered for a traditional lunch courtesy of the Club’s healthy kitchen, which was established two years ago with the help of Ibsar. Writers then presented every student with a signed copy of their books and engaged students in an open discussion on nature and writing. 5
IBDAA 2012
International Biodiversity Day At AUB
Jurors deciding on the winning teams
IBDAA 2012 winners
IBDAA jurors relied on their expertise, business panache, and insight to choose the best projects in each category. The six winning teams shared a prize of $1,000 and were awarded certificates by the University Provost. Dr. Mohammad Fheili, representing IBDAA’s sponsor, Jammal Trust Bank, concluded the event with an insightful speech stating:“ Our sponsorship to IBDAA 2012 was to show our commitment to take our banking services outside the hallowed halls of the banking organization […] to embrace and support young minds in their genuine efforts to serve and protect nature.”
Water windows project
Dr. Fheili representing IBDAA’s sponsor, Jammal Trust Bank
Are you interested in replacing your air conditioner and radiator with heat-regulating blinds? How about using your own urine to fertilize your garden? Would you like to reduce your water consumption using only your house windows? These are just some of the novel ideas that were unveiled in this year’s IBDAA, the International Biodiversity Day at AUB. An Ibsar initiative, IBDAA is a true testimony of AUB students’ creative potential, and it is with great pleasure that we see the increasing enthusiasm and excitement among students, faculty, and staff to get more involved in nature conservation. IBDAA was initiated in 2007 as a response to the United Nations proclaiming May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) in order to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. Over the fall semester, faculty members prepared their students by giving them the opportunity to address biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization from various angles, and develop a new understanding of the subject as they enrolled in a problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making process. More than 150 students from diverse disciplines displayed their works in an open air forum on May 18. Students presented their projects to their peers, AUB faculty, staff, as well as members from the private and public sectors, with some of these members acting as IBDAA jurors. Innovative projects included analyzing the language discourse of environmental groups, a water loss controller to regulate tap water lost in the drain, the creation of a farmers market in main cities in Lebanon, and a Monopolyinspired game on the effects of climate change on nutrition, among many others. 6
IBDAA winners for 2012 listed by category are: • Business Plan: Winners: Elsa Azar and Jeffrey Mourad Project: Cut Flowers Production in Lebanon • First Stage Inventions: Winners: Aya Hoteit and Sara Mekkawi Project: Dust No More! • Product Development: Winners: Jessica El-Halabi, Romy Zgheib, Reda Kays, and Rami Itani Project: Nature’s Perfume, Insects’ Plague (or B-GREEN)
• Arts: Winners: Lana Shahbaz and Rima Maarouf Project: Lebanon’s Natural Biodiversity • Research: Winners: Diana Harb, Zeinab Kobbeisi, and Samah Salem Project: Aggressive Urbanization as a Form of Desertification (or the Language Analysis of Desertification)
• Nutrition/Public Health: Winners: Sima Chamma and Myriam Matta Project: The Effects of Climate Change on Nutrition (or Green Challenge) 7
Auction 2012
‘Plant a Heritage’ Auction
Funds from ‘Plant a Heritage’ will help us to: Collect seeds from fir ( ) شوح, Taurus maple ( ) قيقب طوروسي, laurel ( )غار, and almond ( ) لوزtrees from several regions in Lebanon Prepare and treat seedlings which entails acid, temperature, and humidity treatments, in addition to using ‘Ibsar boxes’ which aid in the development of healthy roots Plant the trees in the north, south, Bekaa and Mount Lebanon regions Remove harmful weeds around trees and use mulch to conserve soil moisture and prevent erosion
Dr. Talhouk explaining the tree planting cycle
Going once, going twice... sold!
In an effort to raise funds for its tree planting program, Ibsar came up three years ago with the idea of hosting an auction that is based on the concept of ‘giving rather than receiving’. Indeed, ‘Plant a Heritage’, as it is aptly named, redefines the notion of what an auction is: it is no longer about things to possess; rather it promotes the invaluable desire to plant trees all over Lebanon.
Water the trees during the hot and dry summer months Follow up on planted sites to ensure optimal survival, monitoring by local communities, as well as future seed growth Catering for ‘Plant a Heritage’ was generously donated by Ms. Nayla Audi.
‘Plant a Heritage’ was held on May 29, 2012 at the AUB Faculty Lounge in Ada Dodge Hall and was attended by nature lovers and friends of the center. The auction consisted of twenty four lots which were divided according to the yearly planting cycle that Ibsar commits to. Bidders competed for lots for Seed Collection, Seedling Preparation and Treatment, Tree Planting, Spring Cleaning, Summer Watering, and finally a Survival Rate Follow Up. The excitement was palpable as auctioneer Nada Boulos Al-Assaad skillfully directed the bidders and gradually raised the stakes. Suspense reached its peak when it was time to bid for the four Tree Planting lots, which were the highest estimated lots of that night. Overall, Ibsar was able to raise over 7,000 USD thanks to its generous audience! Seed collection
Seedling preparation and treatment
Tree planting
Spring cleaning
Summer watering
Survival rate follow up
Auction audience
Over here! 8
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Project Conference
End of Project Conference on Food and Health in Rural Lebanon “Human health cannot be considered in isolation. It depends highly on the quality of the environment in which people live: for people to be healthy, they need healthy environments” 1. This quote sums up what Ibsar’s program, Food and Health in Rural Lebanon, has achieved over the past three years: conducting ‘ecohealth’ studies that take into account all facets of the surrounding environment in order to improve dietary diversity, food security, and health in poor communities in Lebanon. Three rural communities were chosen for the project: Aarsal and Kwakh in the Bekaa, and Batloun in the Shouf region.
Student Hayat Hatab and CCECS’s Olga Majzoub explaining their projects
The end of project conference was held in AUB’s West Hall on June 20 and acted as a venue for Ibsar faculty and staff to discuss the outcomes and impacts of their respective research components. Dima Ousta, coordinator of the Food and Health program, stated: “ The project is multidisciplinary by nature and the aim of the conference is to link the findings of these various disciplines and share them amongst participants.” Indeed, the project involved several departments, both from AUB and from universities abroad such as the University of Ottawa and Université de Montréal in Canada, and Université Aix-Marseille in France. Within AUB, research was carried out from the departments of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management, Nutrition and Food Sciences (FAFS), Chemistry (FAS), Civil & Environmental Engineering (FEA), as well as from the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS). Dr. Salma Talhouk, co-Principal Investigator of the Food and Health project, led the conference by explaining how the project’s various research achievements, which at first might seem disparate and unrelated, are in fact all intertwined under a wholesome and unified Ecohealth banner. Faculty and staff then presented their individual findings which included evaluating community partnerships for a school feeding program in Aarsal, the metabolic benefits of rural versus urban diets, the use of stone quarry by-products as additives in concrete, the reuse of household wastewater, and the biochemical evaluation of raw and processed chicory ( ) هندبة, among many others. Click here for poster abstracts and more information on the conference. 1 Jean Lebel, Health: An Ecosystem Approach, IDRC, 2003
Send your news, articles, and editorial comments to ibsar@aub.edu.lb. Visit our website at www.ibsar.org. Edited by Dr. Najat Aoun Saliba and Paul Samaha Designed by Layal Jradi and Elsy Corban © 2012
Dr. Talhouk going through the project achievements 10
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