King's Academy, November 5, 2009—In an effort to restore and preserve a valuable part of Jordan's environment, King's Academy students traveled to the Zubia Cave in Bargash, Ajloun last weekend to clean up litter and debris in and around the site.

As part of King's Academy's commitment to community service and the Round Square Program, the Zubia Cave Project presents the first of many upcoming outdoor programs.

Zubia Cave, located 115 km northwest of Amman, has been a common spot for people to congregate and consequently leave behind trash. Visitors have also spray painted their names on the walls of the cave. Students spent the day restoring these and other aspects of the cave which serves not only as a fascinating place for humans to explore but also as a home to bats and other animals.

The cleanup group, organized by faculty members Carlos Abellanosa and Elizabeth Aranow in cooperation with the Round Square and Community Service Program, comprised six King's students and Junior Fellow Charlie Wagner. King's Academy Green Club President George Steele '10 was accompanied by Reed Ghandour '11, Abdullah Khalayleh '11, Hasan Abu Kharma '11, Lubna Faraj '12 and Nadine Zaza '12. The equipment used in the clean up was loaned to the group by the Jordanian company Tropical Desert Trips.

Inside the cave, students were instructed to explore in groups. "It was amazing being underground in such a complex network of tunnels" said Ghandour.

After two hours underground, King's students, with trash bags in hand, searched through the cave for litter and rubbish. They collected clothes, sandals, video tape, bags of hardened cement, cigarette butts, shoe laces and pieces of porcelain!  

Together, students experimented with complete darkness by finding a safe place to sit and turning off their headlamps. "It was so amazing, I couldn't even see my hand when it was right in front of my face," said Steele.

By working with the local government in Bargash and the Jordanian Ministry of Antiquities, the King's Academy Green Club is hoping to pass a law that would make damaging the cave not only vandalism, but an environmental crime.

With the support of the mayor of Bargash, Mohammad Qatabneh, the Green Club was provided with an escort to the caves. King's students also received support from Mahmoud Diab Hawawreh, who served as the liaison between the mayor's office and King's Academy.

The day's work done by the King's students is only the beginning. The Green Club's goal is to prevent the future littering of the cave. The club plans to install a lock on the door to keep all unwanted visitors from entering the cave and destroying it.