Read the article and answer the questions.

A green school in Egypt offers lessons on coping with climate change .

JUNE 06, 2015

1. With the region and the world in desperate need of innovative

approaches to climate change, Egyptian social entrepreneur Mohamed
Ashraf Abdel Samad discusses a project that is not only a boon to the
environment but also addresses poverty—and is ready for export.
2. The Middle East is plagued by so many issues—severe economic
problems, civil wars, and the threat of radical armed groups—that it is
easy to push climate change to the bottom of everyone’s agenda. But
the magnitude of the challenges brought about by man-made global
warming to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region could
reverse this.
3. Besides, we appear to have started to witness climate change already. Since documenting global temperatures
began 130 years ago, 14 of the 15 hottest years on record have been very recent ones, from 2000–2015. No
wonder, then, that extreme weather has increased significantly, too. In the year 2010, droughts and wildfires hit
grain exporting regions of Russia and Eastern Europe; severe floods in Pakistan caused such damage to crops
that food prices went up by 40%. In 2011, the Food and Agricultural Organization released a report warning of
the “catastrophic impact” of global warming; saying developing countries that relied on food imports would
suffer most.
4. Rising seawater levels can increase the salinity of vital sources of fresh drinking water, as well as increasing the
salinity of soil in farming land. Droughts, irregular seasons, higher temperatures, and the loss of fertile land,
could reduce agricultural output by up to half. Human health is an additional concern: Malaria and bilharzia are
expected to increase in Egypt, Sudan, and Morocco, while more sandstorms could make respiratory illnesses
more common. Rising temperatures threaten to shrink the region’s scarce water resources even further. The
volume and flow of water could decrease by up to 70% in the River Nile, 80% in the River Jordan, and 30% in the
River Euphrates, before 2100—the end of this century.
5. The thought of impending catastrophe prompted me to start Shagara (‘tree’ in Arabic) back in 2011, mainly to
offset my own carbon emissions! The idea of Shagara is to act by planting trees and
plants inside cities to offset problems, increase environmental awareness, and—last
but not least—help the economically disadvantaged. To do this, Shagara integrates
vegetation into urban areas, blending design concepts with modern agricultural
techniques and architecture.
6. Vegetation does wonders when it comes to environmental benefits: It lessens the
effects of climate change by acting as a major “sponge” or reserve of carbon dioxide
(C02). A healthy tree can absorb almost 5kg of CO2 a year.
7. With poverty still a challenge, though, we also needed to find a way to offset
emissions and reduce poverty.

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 Shagara is about getting plants to provide people who don’t have much money with a little more. The raw
materials we use are, therefore, labor intensive and have the lowest environmental footprint possible. Some
examples are palm reeds, tightly-packed earth, rice straw, and upcycled plastic bottles.
8. Our flagship project is “Shagara at School”. Egyptian public schools suffer from various issues already. Their
overall educational environment is not very good. The infrastructure is poor and keeping them hygienic is a
problem. Activities to empower students and improve their skills are often absent. Teachers of marginal
subjects, like agriculture, receive low salaries.
9. Shagara realized that public schools had some assets, though, that it could use to create value that would be
shared for the public good. Schools contain relatively large spaces, including rooftops, and in some cases, have
lots of empty space around them. They also have agricultural classes and teachers. And lastly, new students
enter schools every year.
10. Roofs can be converted into productive rooftop farms that act as a carbon sink, provide income to the school’s
lowest paid staff, increase the food supply, and are a platform for student activity. Empty areas around the
schools that currently attract garbage can be used instead to grow indigenous species of plants that consume
less water than exotic species, promoting healthier ecosystems and offsetting carbon emissions. Agriculture
teachers could head the gardening teams—necessary to keep the project going. Through it, students could learn
about climate change and, potentially, help spread the practice elsewhere.
11. The Shagara project was carried out for the first time at a school in Egypt’s Al-Qalyubia Governorate in February
2013. It met with phenomenal enthusiasm from the students and teachers, some applying what they learned at
school back at home. Started in 2013, it is still going, the school extending it in 2015 by using its own resources
after receiving an award for quality for the second year running.
12. With success like this, I see no reason why this sort of project can’t be carried out in schools everywhere, not
just in Egypt but worldwide.

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 1. Is Shagara an example of governmental efforts or community efforts?
2. Write a descriptive title for:

- Paragraph 3:_______________________.
- Paragraph 4:_______________________.

3. What was Mohamed Ashraf Abdel Samad’s main motive for establishing Shagara?

4. In your own words:.

- Describe how the Shagara project works.

- Outline 6 main benefits of the Shagara initiative.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Adapted from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.worldbank.org%2Farabvoices%2Fgreen-school-egypt-offers-

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