Water-conscious planting

At Qassim university, water-conscious planting is integrated into campus planning, grounds maintenance, and landscape design. The university prioritizes indigenous plant species and drought-tolerant ornamentals in gardens, walkways, and open spaces. The majority of plants in the university campuses is date palm trees. Date palm trees require minimal irrigation, adapt well to local climate, and promote ecological balance by supporting native pollinators. In addition, landscaped areas are irrigated using drip irrigation systems which ensures minimum water consumptions. Qassim University, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture branch in the Qassim region and the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification in the Qassim region, has begun implementing the objectives of the One Million Volunteer Hours Campaign agreement. This agreement aims to enhance joint cooperation, activate volunteer work in the environmental sector, and activate the "Let's Make It Green" initiative. This initiative was implemented by launching several environmental volunteer opportunities, including opportunities to participate in the university campus afforestation campaign at Qassim University. This is to achieve the target of one million volunteer hours. In pursuit of Qassim University's commitment to raising the level of vegetation cover to achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and in line with the launch of the "Green Saudi Arabia" initiative by His Royal Highness the prince of Qassim Region, and in continuation of the successes of the "Green Qassim Land" initiative, the university has developed a plan to develop vegetation cover and contribute to environmental protection and mitigating the effects of desertification by preparing the necessary sites for afforestation and planting trees and shrubs. By the end of the 2023 season, the vegetation cover on the university campus has increased by more than 200%. During the 2023 season, Qassim University planted 24,500 tree seedlings and shrubs suitable for the climatic conditions, bringing the total number of trees within the university campus to 95,483 trees.