#SAVEWADIALBUHAIR, June 2022
A couple of weeks ago an exploratory trip to Buhair (in East Riffa) was posted on insta as a community walk / biodiversity talk. I went as I was curious to see and learn about it. It turns out it is a 45 million year old archaeological site of natural rock formations and wetland like streams and grasses in a sunken limestone valley. Even though it was a discovery / social trip, many that showed up (from various backgrounds) were understandably extremely sad that this site was being replaced with social housing and a mall. The ultimate question on everyone’s lips were ‘why not preserve it?’ A young geologist created a change.org petition to try and create some awareness of the place’s importance and aimed at getting 100 signatures but has crossed 3,480. It also became a trending hashtag #savewadialbuhair but is this it? In ‘spiritual ecology’ it is recognized that there is a spiritual side to conservation and earth stewardship, wherein natural heritage is entrusted to us.
