Studying the elements of the environment and sources of its pollution is very important. However, studying the relationship between the environment and people has been overlooked. Therefore, this study highlights the cognitive aspects of the rural people regarding their surrounding environment. The current study mainly aimed at identifying the participation levels of the rural residents in environmental awareness programs and the impact of their participation on their environmental knowledge. A questionnaire was designed to achieve the objectives of the study and collect data. A simple random sample of 270 was chosen to represent the population of the study. A questionnaire was distributed and 219 valid responses were collected (the response rate is 81%). The results showed that the respondents have a high level of knowledge regarding food pollution, and a moderate level of knowledge regarding water pollution. However, their levels of knowledge regarding air and soil were low. Significant positive correlations were found between participation and perceived benefits from awareness activities as independent variables and overall knowledge regarding food and water pollution as dependent variables. also, the study found the most challenges that prevent rural people from participating in environmental awareness activities were “there were not enough local activities and events are organized in remote locations” (72%), (70%), “Awareness activities are lack of promoting” (67%), “don’t trust the information being shared” (57%). It was concluded that designing and conducting more awareness activities with a high level of participation helps to disseminate knowledge regarding the environment and how to protect it. The study recommended working on planning and implementing awareness-raising programs and campaigns through the media and those in charge of rural development in the region to raise the level of knowledge in the rural communities.
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