By: Bobby Priyana (Volunteer Bumi Panda)

WWF-Indonesia's Bumi Panda is an environmental education facility located in Bandung. People from all ages and walks of life in Bandung and outside Bandung visit Bumi Panda to get information about the environment and wildlife. Last Saturday (5/11), coinciding with the commemoration of National Wildlife Day, Bumi Panda received a visit from students of SD Aloysius Bandung who were accompanied by several teachers.

Dressed in scout uniforms, the students lined up in the courtyard of Bumi Panda. They enthusiastically listened to Sani Firmansyah, the Coordinator of Bumi Panda who welcomed them and introduced about WWF-Indonesia. After that, the students were divided into four posts, each containing environmental education and wildlife information.

The first station was the species room. In this room, students were introduced to six umbrella species that are the focus of WWF-Indonesia's conservation work. They were also taught about the importance of protecting the environment for the survival of these animals in their natural habitat. One way is by reducing the consumption of tissues and plastics. "Carelessly throwing plastic bags into the sea can cause the number of sea turtles to decrease," said Sani. "Why is that, Sis?" asked Agit, a student at Aloysius Elementary School. "Because plastic bags in the sea look like jellyfish as food for sea turtles, so the turtles will eat them and then choke, can't breathe, and eventually die," answered Sani.

The second post is the Water Laboratory. The students had the opportunity to learn about the various functions of water for humans and the environment and the importance of protecting water. In the water laboratory, various kinds of water test equipment are also provided, for example litmus paper to test the acidity of water and a microscope to see the microorganisms contained in various types of water. The students seemed enthusiastic about observing the various properties of water and microorganisms contained in water.

In the third post, the students of SD Aloysius watched an educational video about the importance of protecting the environment. They sat in an orderly manner in the Bumi Panda library while watching a video about the similarities between the lives of animals and humans. After watching, the volunteers explained the message of the video. "So, it turns out that our lives are not much different from those of animals in nature," explained Dina, one of Bumi Panda's volunteers. The video shows that humans and animals both need homes, food, and more. "But we can determine the sustainability of their lives (animals -Red) in the forest and the sea. Therefore, let's help WWF-Indonesia to keep the spirit of sustainability," said Dina.

In the last post, the students were taught to make cloth bags from unused T-shirts. Each student cut out a t-shirt that they had brought from home and turned it into a cloth bag as a substitute for plastic for daily shopping. This activity taught the students about the importance of waste recycling and also the negative impact of single-use plastic bags. The volunteers Bumi Panda advised them to continue using the cloth bags they had made.

Tired but happy expressions were seen on the faces of the students after all the activities were completed. "In this moment of Hari Cinta Puspa dan Satwa Nasional (HCPSN), we want to invite our students to increase awareness, protection, and preservation of national puspa and animals. It also fosters and reminds us of the importance of wildlife in our lives," said Irene, a teacher from Aloysius Elementary School.

Various knowledge about the environment and wildlife has been successfully delivered. Later, the students are expected to pass on the knowledge gained to friends and family members. A small step from them is the first step for a better generation of the environment.