A different kind of battle is being waged by the Lebanese youth. This time, members of the Youth Environment Parliament - a group of student organizations and teachers working with the Lebanese Appropriate Technology Association (LATA) - are undertaking a massive environmental campaign through the creation of tree nurseries for schools. Targeting more than 2000 schools throughout the country, the initiative seeks to help address the dwindling numbers of trees as a result of war and forest fires in Lebanon. The project began in 2007, with 50 schools as the first group of participants. Since then, the inspirational campaign has drawn the interest of various municipalities and local communities. The Lebanese Appropriate Technology Association (LATA) provided critical technical assistance to YEP for setting up and nurturing the tree nurseries. “The war not only brought destruction to our economies, but it also led to the destruction of our forests. Trees are an important aspect of our ecosystem, and are in many ways linked to our survival and progress as a nation,” said Boghos Ghougassian, secretary general, LATA. “We wanted to make a difference, and thought about helping to address this problem affecting forests as our way of helping heal our people and our land,” he added. Individuals or groups with ongoing environmental projects can also benefit from the Ford Grants. Since their inception in the region in 2000, the Grants have awarded nearly $700,000 of vital support to almost 100 projects. An independent jury panel comprising academics, government officials and environmentalists will select deserving projects active in any of the three following categories: natural environment, environmental education, or conservation engineering. Non-profit making and grassroots level initiatives may apply for funding. Application forms are available at the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealerships in the GCC countries, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, as well as online at the bi-lingual website www.ford-environmentalgrants.com. Application deadline is Dec. 11, 2008. __
