Lecture: Hidden Treasures of the UAE by Ajmal Hasan

TIME: Refreshments from 7pm, lecture from 7.30pm

VENUE: Salon 1, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

LECTURE TITLE:  Hidden Treasures of the UAE by Ajmal Hasan

LECTURE SUMMARY: Contrary to popular belief, the deserts and mountains of the UAE are not as barren as one may envision them to be. There is a plethora of life (animals and plants) with unique adaptations to deal with the intense heat that thrive here. In this presentation, I hope to showcase some of these plant and animal species from my personal photo collection via this presentation.

I do not claim to be an expert in Natural History, neither am I a photographer. I am just one of you, albeit with a very strong passion for nature. My goal is to spread nature/environment awareness and to promote being outdoors, which is really the need of the hour in this age of electronic media.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Ajmal currently heads the Education Department at a recently opened, state-of-the-art archaeological and ecotourism facility in Sharjah. He also is the Chief Engineer and an active member of the Dubai Natural History Group since 2009. An avid trekker and naturalist, Ajmal can be found scouring the deserts, wadis and mountains of the UAE whenever he finds free time. He originally hails from Bangalore, South India. With over 350 solo treks in the deserts and wadis of the UAE since 2008, he has collected an impressive array of photographic documentation of species, both flora and fauna, from different regions of the UAE. Some of these include interesting and rare finds. Ajmal is very active on Social Media (Facebook & Instagram) promoting nature / species conservation through his images. In this presentation, he will showcase some of his interesting nature finds and his passion turned obsession of being out in nature.