PRESERVING HOPE IN THE HEART OF SUMATERA
A cheerful morning atmosphere peppered with warm smiles always greeted us at school. The low roar of laughter of the students also added to the positive spirit at that time. Our journey to introduce sustainable living to schools in the heart of Sumatra began at SMPN 1 Hulu Kuantan, located in Sampurago village, Kuantan Singingi, Riau Province. There are at least 170 students from 4 villages.
Working with students has always been a favorite activity of WWF- Indonesia's education team in Riau. Creative and interactive activities such as extinction or sustainability games, reflections on current local news, watching videos, and exchanging opinions color our meetings. It is not uncommon for the children's responses and reactions to elicit admiration and laughter.
We then held an introduction to Lestari life. The activity began with introductions and was followed by a game of extinction or Lestari. This game uses candy of various colors that symbolize natural resources such as soil, water, and plants. The children were divided into groups and each got a pile of candies in different colors. The rule is that each group member is allowed to take candy, the one who takes the most is the richest. However, if any candy is left, the amount of leftover candy will be multiplied by 2.
This game is usually led by a teacher who has also received an introduction to the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) session. After the teacher counts to 3, the children scramble to get the candy. Of course, accompanied by enthusiastic expressions and laughter typical of children. Almost every group took the whole pile of candy on the table. There were group members who got a lot, a little, or at least one. The game was also accompanied by complaints and complaints from students who only got a few candies.
At the end of the game, the teacher asked the children a sparking question to interpret the game. "What happens if the natural resources that are likened to candies run out?", "Is there any life on earth?" Some of the children seemed to ponder and think. Then, one of them said, "You should only take what you need". Another added, "We should not be greedy". The teacher explained that natural resources must be managed as well as possible to avoid scarcity. In addition, in this world, natural resources are not evenly distributed, some areas are rich in marine products, some only have forest products, and some are identical to barren fields. This is likened to the number of colorful candies that each child has. So for the fulfillment of each region, there is a buying and selling transaction of natural resources. This activity will provide economic benefits but if not done responsibly it will certainly harm the area.
Furthermore, the students had a session on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) packed with the local context, interesting videos, and visuals by WWF's sister organization. Some SDGs were exemplified by local news about conditions in the Kuantan Singingi region, such as poverty news (SDGs 1), fuel scarcity (SDGs 7), and Kuantan Singingi district government's partnership with other entities (SDGs 17). In addition, students also learned to read graphs and diagrams about several SDGs such as a graph of water needs in Kuantan Singingi (SDGs 6), and climate change (SDG 13) which was explained through a short video where the children were asked to conclude.
Meanwhile, related to SDG 15, marine ecosystems, were narrated with a bikini bottom ecosystem that has a lot of good oxygen-producing plankton. This activity encourages them to dialogue and express their feelings and thoughts. Simple examples close to students' daily lives can help students learn sustainable development gradually. Grade 7 students still look awkward and shy when asked to have an opinion, in contrast to grade 8 who are more courageous in answering. To add to the excitement, this activity was also interspersed with several quizzes with prizes and a game of pairing the SDGs logo with its label. Viola, one of the 8th-grade students, said that this learning was very exciting and provided new knowledge.
In addition to emphasizing knowledge on sustainable development and a sustainable future, students are also encouraged to take small actions such as bringing a water bottle to school, throwing garbage in its place, processing natural resources wisely, and studying diligently. From the little knowledge we share with the children, hopefully, it will create small changes in realizing a sustainable future. The journey to create a sustainable future in the heart of Sumatra is still long, like life that keeps on rolling.