On Monday, 29/2/1441 A.H., the General Administration of Maintenance and Services, in cooperation with the branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture in Qassim, launched the fifth phase of the initiative launched by His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Meshal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Emir of the region, under the slogan "Qassim Land is Green" at the main entrance of the University City, under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Dawood, President of the University.
This phase was launched in the presence of the UQU Vice President Dr. Mohammed Al-Saawi, Engineer Salman bin Jarallah Al-Suwaina, Director General of the Environment, Water and Agriculture Branch in Qassim, UQU Vice President for Educational Affairs Dr. Mohammed Al-Obayeb, UQU Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research Prof. Ahmed Al-Turki, UQU Vice President for Planning, Development and Quality Prof. Khalid Al-Harbi, and a number of university staff and students.
Engineer Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Dhali, General Supervisor of Maintenance and Services, said during his speech following the launch of the campaign: This phase aims to plant 5,000 seedlings brought in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, where these seedlings will be planted in stages according to what has been prepared in a number of locations from student parking lots and some internal streets in the university city, pointing out that last year witnessed the planting of more than 10,000 various trees, including palm trees, shade trees and citrus trees that were planted in locations near the colleges and buildings suitable for the planting of such trees.
He added: The Maintenance and Services Department, with the support of the UQU President and Vice President, is always keen to plant the largest number of trees to make the university city green and decorate its corners, squares and streets to make it a green oasis, extending thanks and appreciation to the employees of the Ministry's branch and the university employees for their presence and encouragement of this initiative.
For his part, Engineer Salman bin Jarallah Al-Suwaina, Director General of the Environment, Water and Agriculture Branch in Qassim, confirmed that the preparation for this campaign was based on the directives of His Highness the Emir of the region, where during the past four phases more than 300 thousand trees were planted, explaining that this fifth phase, which starts today at Qassim University, aims to plant about 100 thousand seedlings in the region, noting that all these seedlings - thank God - are produced from the nurseries of the Qassim Region Branch.
Al-Suwaina explained that this campaign works to increase the participation of male and female students to develop a culture of concern for the environment, pointing out that the region has witnessed the establishment of an environment committee, which is considered the first in the Kingdom, indicating that this experience has been generalized and issued a royal order that all regional councils work as Qassim did, by establishing an independent committee under the name of the environment committee.
After that, Eng. Saud Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri, a member of the training staff at the Department of Food Processing Technology and Chemical Laboratories and a researcher in environmental affairs, spoke about the attention our country pays to the environment, its development, preservation and sustainability, which made it one of the pillars of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, to shape awareness of environmental issues and educate the public to face the real challenge in light of the increasing environmental issues and challenges, which requires concerted efforts to achieve this end, stressing that the growing awareness of environmental issues in our society makes us proud, and the sense of responsibility to preserve and protect the environment.
At the end of the ceremony, the UQU Vice President, Dr. Mohammed Al-Saawi, honored the participants of the campaign, and the fifth phase of the "Qassim Green Earth" initiative was launched.