By: Tantia Shecilia
WWF-Indonesia conducted socialization related to Rimbang Baling as well as WWF and BBKSDA work programs and the introduction of the Imbau program in Pangkalan Serai Village and Aur Kuring Village. The selection of the two villages was based on survey results and discussions with the TPU and RBM teams. Residents of these two villages are known to be active in forest activities such as hunting and collecting wood. This socialization was also used by the TPU/RBM team to informally socialize about conservation or obtain related information from the villagers.

On April 6, 2016, the team arrived in Pangkalan Serai Village to prepare for the event and invite the children in Pangkalan Serai Village to play while learning. The socialization event started the next day at 20.20 WIB. The event went smoothly and was attended by some residents of Pangkalan Serai Village.

The next morning, the socialization about WWF and its role was conducted at SDN 016 Pangkalan Serai. This socialization was not only attended by students but also teachers and principal of SDN 016 Pangkalan Serai. The children were invited to play through some ice breaking done by the team of volunteers so as not to feel bored with the material provided.

After the event at SDN 016 Pangkalan Serai was over, we went to Aur Kuning Village to organize environmental education as an informal education for elementary and junior high school children and the establishment of the Aur Kuning Village public library. Environmental education is carried out through the provision of textbooks or storybooks. Arriving in Aur Kuning Village, the team headed to the location that had previously been selected to be used as a library. Assisted by the children who were playing around the location, we worked together to clean the library. In addition, we also built bookshelves and repaired the damaged library cabinets.

On April 9, 2016, the inauguration ceremony of the Aur Kuning village public library was held symbolically by Syamsidar (WWF Riau) and Mr. Zulkfli (BKSDA Riau) together with the Chairman of the BPD of Aur Kuning Village because the Village Head was on duty at the sub-district. The event, which went smoothly, was also attended by junior high school teachers as well as elementary and junior high school children of Aur Kuning Village. The children were invited to see the library room in turn. They welcomed the library with enthusiasm and couldn't wait to read all the books we brought.

The children of Aur Kuring Village were also given informal education by volunteers through story telling and some games as a form of awareness of the importance of protecting forests and animals in Rimbang Baling, especially tigers. Story telling titled "Humans and Tigers" tells the story of a tiger who is starving because he can't find deer for food because the deer's habitat has been destroyed by humans who cut down trees. The children looked serious and curious watching the story of the man and the tiger.

The method of delivering material using puppets was deliberately chosen so that the material presented could be absorbed easily and interestingly. Later the material presented will be acted out by the children of Aur Kuning Village into a drama and displayed at the Art Performance Night. After delivering the story through puppets, the children were invited to play "Tepuk hutan dan Harimau". In addition to practicing concentration, this game also has conservation values related to forests and tigers.

On the second day, April 10, 2016, environmental education was again held in the village office yard and in the field with environmental education materials focused on rivers. This was so that children and the community know that forests, animals and rivers are a unity and affect each other. If one of the three is damaged, then the others will also be threatened. The various benefits of rivers for various animals in the forest including tigers are also told through fairy tales. If the river is polluted, then the tiger cannot drink. They are taught to protect the river by not throwing garbage into the river. This material is reinforced by the game "Deer and Tiger" where each child is divided into groups and each group chooses 6 people to play waste, one person as a tiger, and another person as a deer. The learning atmosphere became more exciting.

The children were asked to reflect the material that had been delivered in a picture. 4 children who had the best drawings were chosen to present their drawings directly to their parents during the art performance. This is expected to provide awareness to their parents, so as to reduce illegal activities such as poaching or illegal logging, especially in Aur Kuning and Rimbang Baling villages.

The next day, we had a rehearsal to prepare for the art performance. The children who performed drama, poetry, or drawing presentations had gathered at the Aur Kuning Village badminton court to practice under the guidance of Aur Kuning Village volunteer and youth, Dody. He also performed a randai called "onceleco". In the evening, the event started despite the rain. The event began with the screening of a video documenting our 4 days in Aur Kuning Village, followed by a speech by Muhammad Afdhal representing WWF Riau Program. The event closed with the screening of the movie "Sungai Untuk Semua". Residents who watched the art performance that night were very entertained.

On April 12, 2016 we said goodbye to the community to return to Pekanbaru. We took the time to stop by the library while bringing study tables and mats for the library inventory. This village library is expected to be a center of educational activities that can serve as a place to play, learn, training education or other useful things. The library is built to be as comfortable as possible so that people are also interested in visiting. WWF will conduct long-term management by making visits every semester to fill educational activities and awareness of children in Aur Kuning Village through informal education. The same thing is planned to be done in Pangkalan Serai Village. The inauguration of the village library in this village is scheduled for July or August 2016.