Bahraini students visit Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary

A group of 38 students from the Kingdom of Bahrain visited the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary recently. Students of Grades 6 and 7 of the Riffa Views International School (RVIS) Bahrain, along with their instructors took time and included in their itinerary during their educational exposure trip to the UAE a visit to the country’s 1st RAMSAR site.

"We saw an article on our local newspaper regarding the sanctuary and it prompted an interest that such a place might be of value to the educational exposure trip that we were planning for students of Grades 6 and 7 and a quick surf to the website of the sanctuary fuelled the interest more that a visit would make the exposure trip worthwhile," said Mr. Geoff Ward, an instructor at RVIS.

Officials from the Marine Environment and Wildlife Sanctuaries Section of the Municipality facilitated the tour that commenced in the mangrove hide and concluded in the flamingo hide. A short lecture was given to the students regarding the ecosystems in the sanctuary, the reason why there is a need for a sanctuary and what is the benefit of having a sanctuary.

The lecture was followed by an informal question and answer dialogues during which the kids asked different interesting information from the number of species in the sanctuary to the different diets of the birds. The students were very interested on the different species that they saw outside the hides, particularly the colour of the flamingos and the hovering raptors observed above the canopies of the mangrove forest.

According to Mr. Ward the visit to the sanctuary helped the students understand the significance of a sanctuary. "The literatures are of great help in educating the next generation about the environment but seeing it in action further enriched their appreciation of the significance and the efforts that are being indulged into keeping it healthy," he said.

The students, who observed directly the beauty of nature, expressed their hope if everyone does their own part in the protection and conservation of the natural resources.