Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist) Bachelor’s of Business Administration students kicked off their fifth semester with a trip to the coast on Monday.
The trip was no picnic. The 36 students who were accompanied by a teacher set off early in the morning and spent all day repopulating the mangrove forest at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Wetlands Centre at Sandspit as part of their business ethics assignment. The assignment will count towards their final grades. They were also shown a documentary on turtles in Pakistan and the threat to their species.
“The mangrove plantation is one of their three activities and they will be given marks in their examination on it,” Hina Shamsi Noman, business ethics teacher at Szabist, told The Express Tribune. “Before entering into serious professionalism, students should know their responsibility towards life and nature.”
The mangrove trees that lined the wooden bridge leading into the WWF centre sent the students into raptures and squeals of delight.
Dressed in black t-shirts bearing the legend ‘Marine Groove’, the students settled down to watch a 17-minute long documentary on turtles called ‘Kachhwa Kahani’. The film explained the ordeals turtles face, starting from the time they lay eggs to when hatchlings emerge and have to survive the threat of predators.
It concluded with examples of the WWF wetland centre’s efforts towards protecting them from these dangers and how it is becoming increasingly difficult to preserve the species. They warned that, if something is not done immediately, only a few hundred thousand will be left worldwide. A study shows that only one of the thousands of hatchlings survive on average.
Later, the centre’s head, Babar Hussain, took questions and shared his personal experiences while working with WWF with the students. “If students can contribute towards the betterment of environment, why can’t everyone else?” said Sindhu Arbani one of the students.
After the documentary, the students took up shovels and set about planting trees with admirable zeal. “I’m ecstatic today,” Sorath Neel beamed. “I’m so proud that I’ve done something to enhance the beauty of nature. Next year, when I visit the WWF Wetland Centre I would be happy to see them all grown up.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2011.
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