OREANDA-NEWS. February 13, 2013. Bunduq Company Limited, the operator of the El Bunduq oilfield on the offshore border of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, recently introduced its innovative environmental education program to students of the Dukhan English School (DES), reported the press-centre of QP.

The program, called the “Hana-IKU Kids Program,” raises the environmental awareness of students as they engage in planting and caring for various types of flowering plants. The term Hana-IKU means “flower cultivation” in Japanese, and under the program, the students are taught how to create their own container garden in a hands-on activity that greatly increases their appreciation of nature’s beauty.

The DES, an international school owned by Qatar Petroleum (QP), is the second educational institution in Qatar to benefit from the Hana-IKU Kids Program, after its initial launching at QP’s Mesaieed International School in November last year. A total of 102 Year-4 students of DES participated in the program, with two groups taking part in the activity on January 23 and another two groups on January 24.

The program’s launching ceremony in Dukhan was attended by senior officials of QP, Bunduq Company Ltd. and other distinguished guests. Among these were Mr. Ahmad Saif Al-Sulaiti, Operations Manager-Dukhan Fields; Mr. Misfer Saleh Hamad Al-Bidaiwi
Manager, Gas Recycling; Mr. Kimiya Nakamura, General Manager of the Planning & Marketing Department of United Petroleum Development Co. Ltd.; Mr. Hiderijo Inoue, HSE Manager of Bunduq Company Limited; Mr. Hiroshi Ishii, Qatar Representative of Bunduq Company Ltd; Mr. Ahmed Y. Al Abdul Jabbar, Assistant General Manager of Bunduq Company Ltd., and Mr. Derek Andrew Jones, Headmaster of DES.

During the activity, Japanese instructors provided each of the participants with a flower pot, into which the students poured some soil and they then planted the seed of a tulip as well as flowering plants, such as petunia and vinca. Next, they added more soil to the pot to complete their container garden. The students then put their names in their pot, and they were instructed to water it regularly for the plants to grow properly.

“The Hana-IKU Kids Program is Bunduq Company’s sustainability initiative that enables young students to take part in a fun-filled activity while instilling in them the importance of protecting the environment. We are highly pleased to introduce this environmental education program here in Qatar in partnership with Qatar Petroleum,” said Mr. Abdul Jabbar.

Bunduq Company Limited, which is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a representative office here in Doha, is a joint venture involving BP and a consortium of Japanese companies. Dukhan English School, on the other hand, is one of the oldest English-medium schools in Qatar and it serves the educational needs of the children of QP employees who are based in Dukhan.