Orangutan Foundation

Earth Day came and went, and the Education team (from the Indonesian NGO Yayorin) from our EC funded project in Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve made sure it didn’t go unnoticed.

Our theme for Earth Day was “Menanam Pohon Untuk Mengurangi Panas Bumi” or “Planting Trees to Decrease Global Warming”. We wanted to inform the community about climate change, and how we, as individuals and also as a community, can contribute to a better, sustainable environment.

The target for Earth Day was the community of Sukamara, a district of Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and the youth group which the Orangutan Foundation facilitate, called Green Organization. The Education team spent a week in Sukamara prior to the event, to meet up with government and school officials to ensure that the Earth Day celebrations were a joint collaboration.

On Earth Daywe had a drawing competition for schoolchildren of various age groups at our EC-Lamandau project office in Sukamara. There were also environment games, including building a globe (out of sustainable materials). We encouraged the youth to build tree costumes out of boxes, and make up their own environment banners.

 Teachers and parents kindly volunteered their time to assist with these activities. An Earth Day parade mostly comprised of the youth from the Green Organization was organized, and everybody brought pails of water, of which they would spontaneously water the trees planted by the roadside. The idea is to inculcate the feeling of social togetherness and caring for the local environment. The soils in Sukamara are quite poor, and sandy and therefore, any trees, shrubs or plants in the community were ‘celebrated’ for being there.

The day ended with 124 individuals comprising of youth, government officials and villagers descending to Danau Burung nursery (also a guardpost manned by Orangutan Foundation and Forestry Department staff, that borders the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve) to plant at least 250 indigenous seedlings.

To thank the Green Organization youth who so enthusiastically volunteered their time to help and participate in Earth Day, we treated them to a well-deserved barbeque and an environment film screening.

Earth Day in Sukamara was hailed as a success by all, and we can’t wait to start planning for the next year!

Thank you,

June Rubis

Orangutan Foundation Programmes Manager

The smoke from garbage burning started to hurt our eyes…million of flies swarmed around us…and the unmistakable aroma of garbage welcomed us as we drove into this local waste collecting location. A trash-picker moved quickly passed us toward the incoming yellow garbage truck; he wanted to be the first to find anything inside that he could sell.

Burning garbage at Pasir Panjang waste collection centre.

Student participating in Yayorin’s environmental extracurricular activity seemed a little bit bewildered this afternoon. The main subject of today’s discussion was garbage – its role on the environment, its problems and management. It was obvious that they had never seen as much garbage in their lives and probably felt quite overwhelmed by it.

Most of the students did not even know that such place exists in their city. Many could not even say where the garbage they produced at home or at school went to. In the beginning, they were not happy being ”dragged” into this disgusting place and could not stand the smell. With the passing of time, though, they started to understand why we brought them there and involved entusiastically in the learning process.

In this meeting we asked them to identify the types of garbage they could find in an area of 1m x 1m. They then had to identify which ones were organic and which were inorganic. They were also asked to pay attention to how the garbage was collected, transported and managed.

The Pasir Panjang Waste Collecting Location is the largest in this city and its surrounding areas. This is where all of the waste of the city finally goes to. Unfortunately, like most garbage collecting locations in Indonesia, the concept of garbage management is through burning. What was ironic was the big sign we saw there that clearly said “Do Not Burn the Garbage”!

The students had a tour around the Location. They found an abandoned composting house, filtering pond and a monitoring well. The well was located about 50 meters from the collection area, and the water inside was quite clean. It was supposed to mean that the soil water was in good condition.

The students took home with them a valuable learning experience. We hope that now they realise where their garbage goes, and how the waste can put a really heavy burden on the environment. Next time they want to throw their garbage on the street or anywhere else inappropriate, we wish they will stop and remember their unique experience at the ”garbage place”.

Thanks,

Riyandoko and Sally (Yayasan Orangutan Indonesian www.yayorin.org)

“By listening I know; By seeing I understand; By doing I make a difference.”

The children enthusiastically approached the two cows in their stable. In their hands were the newly-cut, fresh, green leaves. They waited impatiently for their turns, and their face lit up when the cows ate the leaves.

Feeding the cows is probably a simple and common thing for those who live in small villages and have cows. For these children from Islam Terpadu Elementary School, however, this simple thing became an extraordinary experience. It was probably the first time they ever saw a cow in their life. The participants on this visit were 1st grade students, 55 of them, and 5 of their teachers.

Feeding the cows was one of education activities we conducted during this school visit at Yayorin’s Kampung Konservasi. This outdoor learning focuses to integrate knowledge the children learn from school with some field experiences. This way, students not only understand the theories and facts, but most importantly, understand and respect the knowledge they receive.

Another activity that the children found very exciting was when they were asked to plant vegetable seeds. This time, they planted pokchai ( a type of vegetable similar to chinese spinach) in black polybags. With enthusiasm they grabbed handfuls of soil that was already mixed with organic compost and put it in the polybags. Each of them made a little hole on the soil with a finger, put one seed in it, and covered it with soil. Finally, they carefully watered the planted seeds. The children really loved it!

Other than feeding the cows and planting vegetable seeds, the children also watched an environmental movie in our little theatre and listened to story-telling in the library. The morning passed by very quickly, and everybody was sad when we had to say goodbye.

Kampung Konservasi tries to use nature as a learning ”canvas”…where simplicity and friendship with the environment are keys to understanding and respect. By giving opportunities for young people to express themselves and learn by doing, we are actually influencing their behaviors and future choices. In the long run, we hope that they can then influence others around them, including the adults. When that happens, the world will definitely be a better place!

Thank you,

Riyandoko (Education Facilitator) & Sally (Yayorin)