R.E Pilgrimage Lesson 11

Lesson Objectives:I can talk about the environmental

impact of pilgrimage.

Grown ups- please note this is mainly a talking and discussion lesson. If you would like to,

please note down any comments the children have said in their books.

In today’s lesson we are going to be thinking about how the millions of pilgrims that visit certain sites each

year might affect the natural environment.

Can you think of two pilgrimages that we have learnt about so far where MILLIONS of people visit

particular areas? Click on the next page.

Did you think about the pilgrimage to Mecca called Hajj which can see up to 3 million people

in one place or the pilgrimage and celebration to river sites in India called the Kumbh Mela where over 100 million people can visit over 55 days?

That’s a lot of people all in one place!Please look at the next few slides and talk to your grown up about what effect all of these

people could have on the natural environment.

The river Ganges is considered to be a sacred river, but during the Kumbh Mela its pollution levels rise.

What sort of rubbish can you see here? Would there be any other sort of pollution in the river that you

can’t see?

Waste left behind on the shores of the river after Kumbh Mela.

The building of more hotels and road in Mecca to provide places to stay during Hajj. What

impact would this have on the environment?

Increased traffic: coaches and cars to Mecca during Hajj. What effect will this

have on the environment?

However, all religions teach their followers to care for and protect the environment.

Here are some examples:

In Islam, Muhammed (pbuh) said, “The Earth is green and beautiful, and Allah has appointed you his stewards over it.”

In one of the holy books from Hinduism, there is a quote that says ‘God is in every living thing.’

Please talk to your grown up about these two examples and what they mean.

It is very difficult for busy sites of pilgrimages to cope with the large numbers of people. But pilgrims want to come to feel closer to their

God, but also don’t want to harm the environment.

So can you think of any ways in which the impact on the environment could be reduced?Talk to your grown up about this and then click

on the last few slides.

Over the years, people have become much more aware of the impact of large pilgrimages on areas and so there is now more effort from everyone to reduce

the damage to the natural world.Here are some examples:

Toilets like these were used during the KumbhMela. 275,000 toilets were needed in 2019, many of which were eco-friendly. This stops so much waste going into the river.

Street cleaners are very busy during KumbhMela, keeping the bins emptied. This stops some of the rubbish from building up and eventually

ending up in the river.

Did you know that in 2019, an extra 16,000 dustbins were needed during Kumbh Mela?

A new high speed rail route has been built to take pilgrims from an airport called Jeddah to Mecca

during Hajj. This reduces the amount of traffic on the road.