Arwa's Freelance Site » Green

Big Issue North: Predict & Provide – Food Poverty In The UK

arwafreelance — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:35:21 +0000

From horsemeat in burgers to poverty related hunger, food is in the headlines in the worst possible way. Yet as food prices continue to rise and cities grow, the shortage of affordable and healthy food looks set to worsen. So what can an old mill in Salford do to bring sustainable and wholesome fare to our cities? Arwa Aburawa investigates.

With central government examining the surge of emergency foodbanks and charities warning of an increase in poverty-related hunger, it’s clear food insecurity is on the rise. The horsemeat scandal may have raised a lot of questions about our supermarkets but more daunting questions are now being asked about how we protect the poorest from rising food prices. How can we make healthy food more accessible in the wake of the cuts? And can cities really feed themselves? Manchester International Festival and the Biospheric Foundation in Salford are working together to answer these very questions….

Read on below:

View this document on Scribd

Aquila Magazine: Ancient Innovation For Modern Problems

arwafreelance — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:02:59 +0000

Here’s a sneak peek of my latest article for Aquila Magazine’s Earth Issue. It’s all about indigenous populations making the most of their ancient traditions to cope with an increasingly unpredictable climate. As well as highlighting the continued importance of ancient water tunnels (called aflaj) in Oman, I spoke to an expert on community adaption in Bangladesh about the floating gardens (called baira) which are providing a lifeline to flooded communities. There’s also a snippet on the amazing work of Hassan Fathy in Egypt…

Want to read more? Well all you have to do is download (how eco is that?!) a copy of the latest Aquila Magazine here. It’s only a couple of dollars for a mag jam-packed with goodness. Go on, you know you want to!

SISTERS – The Green Edition: Faith, Families and Features

arwafreelance — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:18:17 +0000

After lots of work and even more enthusiasm (well done Brooke!) the very lovely and very special green issue of SISTERS is out. It’s bursting with green quizzes, features, top tips for your home and also a round up of some great eco-Muslims organisations. I’ve contributed an article on the issue of population growth and ask the whether large Muslim families are a blessing or a curse. Read on for more and also to download or buy your own copy.

@FabulousSISTERS – Hymens, Hijabs and Helmets: Muslimahs Who Cycle (arwafreelance.com)

Aquila Style Magazine: What glides along swiftly and silently while creating commotion and confusion?

arwafreelance — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:53:39 +0000

‘I am trying to give my friends the courage to join me, so we can prove to all those who think bad of us that we’re well educated Muslimahs,’ explains Rola Mohammed. ‘That we wear the hijab and what we do isn’t wrong.’

This young pharmacy student living in the Egyptian city of Mansoura clearly has a battle on her hands. Rola wants to change engrained beliefs and cultural taboos that dictate how a woman is seen, the freedom she is granted and the physical activities she is permitted to do. She wants women in Egypt and all across the region to rise up and try something they’ve probably never done before: She wants them to cycle.

To read the full feature, go to Aquila Style Magazine – The Empower Issue and download it for a couple of dollars. Go on. You know you want to.

Aquila: The Pink Revolution – Overthrowing Sexual Violence (arwafreelance.com)
@FabulousSISTERS – Hymens, Hijabs and Helmets: Muslimahs Who Cycle (arwafreelance.com)

MCM: Awareness into action? Manchester BME groups talk climate change

arwafreelance — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:23:37 +0000

A group of around 30, pretty diverse, people attended an event today hoping to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on BME communities in Manchester.

The event kicked off with an introduction by the chair of the Manchester BME Network Atiha Chaudry who also gave some of the partners a chance to talk about their Defra-funded research and findings. This included Michelle Ayavoro from Creative Hands and Kate Damiral from NCVO. I sadly missed this but arrived in time to sample some the workshops.

After listening into the ‘understanding the impact of climate change’ presentation I wandered into the community involvement workshop run by Catrina Pickering from Afsl. All attendees were given some handouts about projects in Manchester and were told to discuss them in pairs and share back to the group. I happened to walk in just as the group were enthusing about how great Manchester Climate Monthly was (my work here is done!) so I was pretty impressed. All the attendees got to talk about projects they wanted to share with others and also ask for help. Pretty cool stuff but I’m clearly biased.

Talking to various people during lunchtime, it’s clear that whilst they were happy that the awareness-raising event (funded by Defra as part of the research) was happening, they were wondering ‘what next?’. I sat down with Atiha Chaudry and asked her that very question. Here’s what she said:

The final report with all the findings and also the toolkit will be available next month.

DW: Egypt mourns eco-activist Mindy Baha El Din

arwafreelance — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:13:50 +0000

Egypt’s environmental community is in mourning following the sudden death of activist Mindy Baha El Din. Local journalist Arwa Aburawa knew Baha El Din personally and gives her thoughts on the passing of a hero.

I first met Mindy Baha El Din during an interview back in 2011. The first thing that struck me about her was her positive outlook on things. It seemed like, on environmental issues, she was immune to becoming cynical about anything.

Born Mindy Rosenzweig, the Chicago-born American initially came to Egypt in 1988 with a mission to highlight the importance of conservation. In the end, it turned out that it was such a big task that she never left.

Instead, she fell in love with Egypt’s nature, met and married bird expert Sherif Baha El Din and became one of the country’s leading green campaigners. She was also the Secretary of the ‘Nature Conservation Egypt’ organization, which is dedicated to conserving Egypt’s environment.

“Over the years, we have witnessed massive changes and degradation to Egypt’s natural heritage,” she told me back in 2011. “It is shocking how one generation made decisions about natural resource use, affecting present and all future generations of Egyptians.”

New environmental projects are sprouting up across Egypt, thanks to Baha El Din’s groundwork

“The nation is blessed with amazing nature, cultural heritage and traditional communities which need to be protected.”

Campaigning on different fronts

During my environmental reporting on the Middle East, I would regularly receive tweets from Mindy about everything from campaigns to stop development projects near Lake Qarun, to efforts to end fishing in Ras Mohammed National Park.

Mindy Baha El Din wasn’t shy about making the most of social media and was proud of all the international support she managed to garner for her campaigns.

“We are new to environmental activism,” she confessed to me following the revolution in Egypt which saw the overthrow of the dictator Mubarak in early 2011. “It was not tolerated in the past but seems to suit the current atmosphere in the country.”

Indeed, following the Arab Spring, Mindy seemed to go into top gear with an even greater belief in the need to keep people informed and the importance of openness.

Still, at the same time, she was very proud of being Egyptian and told me she considered herself lucky to call Egypt her home.

“Living here is like being on a permanent vacation,” she had said.

A husband and wife team

Working with her husband, she led international campaigns against bird hunting, helped inform government environmental policy and campaigned to conserve any precious piece of nature that came under threat.

Environmental journalist Arwa Aburawa first met Mindy Baha El Din in 2011

“We both have a strong sense of civic duty,” she explained. “We have tried our best to make a difference, but it has been an uphill struggle.”

The one thing that struck me whenever I interviewed Mindy Baha El Din was just how optimistic she was. Even after the revolution which toppled Mubarak threatened to push environmental issues further down the political agenda, she saw new opportunities and new potential in the young people who flooded the streets.

“What is very exciting after the revolution is all these creative, talented and bright young people,” she said. “They are the nation’s capital and future. They want to be involved in improving their nation. It is up to us environmental campaigners to find ways to engage and channel their energies,” she said.

Last Thursday (14.03.2013) Mindy suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. During an operation a later later she fell into a coma. She passed away early on the following Monday morning. Her wake will be held later this week in Cairo and is open to the public.

::Originally published at Deutsche Welle.

MCM: “Little Green Feats” – AfSL’s Interactive #Sustainability Workshop for Kids

arwafreelance — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:19:45 +0000

I caught up with AfSL volunteer Shireen Malik to talk about the sustainability workshop she developed to help inform children about environmental issues in a fun and interactive way. Shireen will be holding the workshops in Manchester until February 2014, so get in touch if you are interested or know someone who is.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved with AfSL?

I’m a full-time mum of three children (aged 9, 7 and 3). I first became involved with AfSL by coming along to a local project of theirs, Old Moat Gardeners (OMG), which was an allotment they had set up in a back garden of a house that was being renovating. I received a letter in my son’s school bag and thought that this would be a fabulous opportunity for my kids to learn about growing own our food! They loved it, especially the younger two. After approximately 2/3 months of going the Local Project Managers of OMG were leaving Manchester and asked if I would be interested in taking over. AfSL offered training, which I completed, and as a result Little Green Feats was born!!

What are the workshop’s aims and why did you want it to be targeted at kids?

The workshops are aimed at children aged 9-11. I have been volunteering in school for some time before I became a Local Project Managers (LPM), and was aware of the ability of this age group so I geared my workshop for them. I have also volunteered for an Islamic charity, the Islamic Society of Britain, in which I delivered workshops to teach children of this age group about Islam which have been very successful. So, I thought why not teach children about sustainability?!

I aimed it at children because they are in their prime for learning, and ideas and thoughts are developed at this time. I also remember where my interest in sustainability came from, and it was by watching Blue Peter when I was at school age! Children are custodians of the future, and I feel that by teaching them how they can make their world better for their future, is important for them.What has the reaction to it been from the parents, kids and staff?

So far, the reactions I have got from children and their parents have been great! Children have enjoyed taking part and parents have said they are applying what they have learnt at home, which is just what we wanted! Teachers have felt that it has supplemented their teaching very well, and confirmed that the children enjoyed every minute of it. I think when you start something new you never expect positive responses straight away, so just to get the response I got was really quite surprising!

Why is sustainability important to you?

Sustainability is important to me mainly because of two things. First of all, in my Islamic faith there are clear instructions to protect the environment and respect the laws of nature. Understanding sustainability and acting upon it, is a form of worship because we are abiding by the religion’s teachings. Secondly, my passion for sustainability has come from regular viewing of the one and only Blue Peter, and related animal and environment conservation programmes when younger.

How can people help support the project and take part?

People can help support the project by volunteering with AfSL and joining the workshops when they take place. They can also help by spreading the word about Little Green Feats to anybody who works in primary schools. We are trying to make LGF available to schools all over Manchester so help from anyone outside central Manchester would be welcome to save journey time to schools in that area. If anyone wishes to volunteer then they can contact myself at shireen.malik@afsl.org.uk or Erika Nagae, (Sustainability and Schools Coordinator for Manchester) at erika.nagae@afsl.org.uk.

Partner organizations & Funders:

- Ward Regeneration Officer (Chorlton and Chorlton Park)

- Manchester City Council and AfSL

Interview conducted by Arwa Aburawa, co-editor of Manchester Climate Monthly

“Little Green Feats” – AfSL’s Interactive #Sustainability Workshop for Kids in #Manchester (manchesterclimatemonthly.net)

Guardian – Has the axe fallen on Manchester’s green spaces?

arwafreelance — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:11:04 +0000

An avenue of trees in Alexandra Park, Whalley Range, Manchester.

Here’s my latest piece for the Guardian.

As local authority cuts dig ever deeper and warden services face the chop, Greater Manchester‘s campaigners say green spaces are at an increased risk of over-use and vandalism. Every year, Manchester city council spends just under £2m on cutting grass across the city. It’s an important service, but green campaigners think that one month’s worth of grass cutting would be better spent on saving an important warden service that cares for the region’s entire 55,000-hectare Mersey Valley.

“The council has a legal obligation to conserve biodiversity to protect it and enhance it,” says Dave Bishop, chair of Friends of Chorlton Meadows. “I don’t see how they can do that without a warden service for the Valley.”

The Mersey Valley, which stretches to Stockport in the east and the Manchester Ship Canal in Irlam to the west, has been providing relief to stressed urbanites for decades. Its future, however, is in the balance. After worrying rumours reached Bishop that the Valley’s warden services would be disbanded in March, he got in touch with his local councillors. They confirmed the service would indeed be up for assessment. As Trafford council had decided not to pay its share of the funding, the city council proposes to withdraw its £150,000 from the Mersey Valley warden service from March.

“I understand that cuts have to happen but without the warden the area will become very neglected,” says Bishop. “There will be a lot more litter and vandalism and maybe motorcycle scramblers wrecking the area if we are not very careful. The fate of a well-loved piece of local green space hangs in the balance,” says Bishop.

Councillor Nigel Murphy, executive member for environment at Manchester city council, said: “The Mersey Valley is a fantastic resource and we recognise that we have obligations to maintain the valley, its habitats and wildlife, and keep the waterways safe. However, due to the savage cuts in central government funding we have been forced to make difficult decisions and we are presently consulting on budget options.”

An open public meeting will be held by the city council regarding the Mersey Valley cuts on 15 February at St Barnabus Hall, Hardy Lane. Although the decision is open to consultation, Bishop admits the signs are ominous and he doesn’t hold out much hope for the warden service’s continuation past March.

Alexandra Park, on the border of Whalley Range and Moss Side, is another Manchester green space facing uncertainty. The park is undergoing a £4.5m makeover to restore it to its former Victorian glory. While that may sound like good news, the restoration will mean the loss of 400 trees and 33 acres of wildlife habitat.

Nadine Andrews, who is part of the Save Alexandra Park campaign, says that the tree-felling is completely unjustified and a threat to the wildlife and biodiversity of the area. More than 3,000 people have signed a petition against the tree-felling, but plans have gone ahead regardless.

“The little bits of wild nature we have in the area are being destroyed,” says Andrews. “Of course, nature is resilient and will bounce back but it’s really distressing to watch these trees that are a hundred years old being cut down. It’s physically painfully to see that.”

As well as cherry trees, around 50 healthy Sycamore trees that formed an avenue along Claremont Road have been cut down. Protestors are now camping out in the park to stop further felling and work has temporarily come to a halt.

The Alexandra Park campaign group has been particularly critical of the consultation process with the council and Andrews states their input has been consistently ignored. “The decisions that they are making affect our lives. We use the park and so we should be able to play a full role in the decision-making but just from reading the comments of people who’ve signed the petition saying ‘I live right next to the park and I didn’t know this was happening’ it’s clear that people’s don’t know what actually happening.”

A spokesperson from the council responded: “The actions of the protesters are now holding up much-needed improvements to the park which have widespread public support and indeed all the evidence from our ongoing conversations with local people – which date back several years as these plans have been developed – suggest that the majority are behind the plans.

“We have taken community views on board as part of this process, and indeed reduced the number of trees removed after consultation, but now it our responsibility to deliver the plans.”

• Arwa Aburawa is a freelance journalist based in Manchester with an interest in the environment and the Middle East. She is co-editor ofManchester Climate Monthly.

::Originally published at The Guardian.

Photograph: Rusholmeruffian/Creative Commons

Discover: Do’s & Don’t's for an Eco-friendly Hajj

arwafreelance — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 09:42:45 +0000

This is OFFICIALLY the first article I’ve ever written for children and I can honestly say, it was lots of fun. It was difficult to really really tone down the vocabulary and say things simply and clearly but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to speak to young Muslims about the environment. A great opportunity from an up and coming magazine called Discover. Check it out here. To read the article, just click on the image above.

Mapping Palestine’s Environmental Civil Society – The Good, the Bad and the Uncooperative

arwafreelance — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:05:45 +0000

A study mapping the environmental actors in Palestine shows a desperate lack of co-operation between organisations and donors keen to play it safe with ‘practical projects’

The lovely people at Heinrich Böll Stiftung had done something that I have been procrastinating about for almost lifetime (well, not quite a lifetime but a good couple of years at least). They have mapped out the important actors and organisations on the environmental scene in Palestine. Exciting, right!? They have painstakingly gone through all those websites, NGOs and institutes with an environmental focus to bring us a clear image of the state of the environmental movement in Palestine. They found that out of 2,245 NGOs registered in the oPt only 104 were environmentally-focused and of these, just 56 were actually still active. More juicy details after the jump.

The Facts on Green Palestine

- 104 registered environmental civil society organisation in the West Bank and Gaza

- 56 civil society organisations are actually still active

- Over 70% of environmental civil society organisations feel that their relationship with other organisations is competitive rather than co-operative

- Limited funding and efforts to raise their grassroots presence are two main reasons for the competitiveness between organisations

- 8 key organisations in Palestine based on their size, the variety of programmes implemented and geographic range:

Most organisations complained that international donors attempted to remain neutral by focusing in practical action and lacked the political will to enforce real changes by addressing Palestinians’ rights to natural resources. As such many organisations felt their projects were simply ‘coping mechanisms’. Even so, the relationship between NGOs and funders was generally described as co-operative if highly dependent.

: For the full article and to find out the top 9 key green organisations in Palestine go to GreenProphet.com

: Palestine (Photo credit: Squirmelia)

Organic Farming Boom in Palestine (greenprophet.com)
Without A Strong Civil Society, Middle East Environment Has No Chance (Op-Ed) (arwafreelance.com)

Arwa's Freelance Site » Green

Big Issue North: Predict & Provide – Food Poverty In The UK

Aquila Magazine: Ancient Innovation For Modern Problems

SISTERS – The Green Edition: Faith, Families and Features

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Aquila Style Magazine: What glides along swiftly and silently while creating commotion and confusion?

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MCM: Awareness into action? Manchester BME groups talk climate change

DW: Egypt mourns eco-activist Mindy Baha El Din

MCM: “Little Green Feats” – AfSL’s Interactive #Sustainability Workshop for Kids

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Guardian – Has the axe fallen on Manchester’s green spaces?

Discover: Do’s & Don’t's for an Eco-friendly Hajj

Mapping Palestine’s Environmental Civil Society – The Good, the Bad and the Uncooperative

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