By: Natalia Trita Agnika

There are not many formal schools in Indonesia that are environmentally based. Therefore, the Panda Mobile team was delighted to receive an invitation from Sekolah Alam Tanah Tingal, Ciputat, South Tangerang on Monday (05/09). This school is one of the educational institutions that enriches the national educational repertoire based on environmental insights. The students are invited to have concern and love for the environment so that they can appreciate their environment more.< br />

During the visit, the Panda Mobile team presented the theme "Animals and the Environment". Dressed in pencak silat uniforms, the students welcomed the arrival of the Panda Mobile team who opened the activity by introducing various umbrella animals such as elephants, tigers, orangutans, turtles, whale sharks, and rhinos. To the students, Panda Mobile's volunteers explained that by saving these animals, we are also saving the habitat and other animals that live in the same habitat.

After that, Kak Ryan and Kak Biyong told a story about orangutans. The students seemed fascinated by the story that was told while occasionally accompanied by guitar playing. In the story, an orangutan child was separated from its mother because it was chased by poachers. Kak Ryan invited the students to love orangutans and other animals. Laughter was heard when there was a funny scene shown in the fairy tale.< br />

In the next activity, the students were divided into three groups. Each group participated in different activities at different locations accompanied by Panda Mobile volunteers. On the Panda Mobile truck, there was a movie watching activity. There was a collection of movies about the environment that were screened for the students. The movie titled "Gajah Sumatera" showed the condition of Sumatran elephants in their natural habitat and the conflicts that arise with humans. There was also the movie "Brazil Domino", "Planet Plastic", and "Banyu". When watching the high waste generation in the movie "Banyu", one of the students asked, "Is there really a mountain of garbage that high? Why is that?"

In addition to watching the film, the kindergarten students were invited to get to know various protected animals through coloring activities. With great attention, they colored pictures of Javan rhinos, Sumatran elephants, and Sumatran tigers on the sheets provided. Meanwhile, elementary school students were invited to utilize unused newsprint by making it into paper bags.

The schoolyard that blends with nature is utilized by the volunteers to invite students to play "Tiger and Hunter" games. A cheerful atmosphere was seen when the student designated as the tiger ran excitedly trying to avoid the hunter. The other students formed a circle and encouraged the tiger to survive.

Tika, one of the parents who supported Panda Mobile at the school, was very happy with Panda Mobile's visit. In her daily life, Tika always encourages her children to care more about the environment. One of the ways is to accustom her children to use bicycles as a means of transportation to school. She also hopes that WWF-Indonesia through the Panda Mobile activities can increase its activities, especially in disseminating things related to solutions to environmental problems. "For example, providing information on what we can do with waste cooking oil," suggested the environmentalist.