Learn our Nature

 

Children that only received formal education in schools are uneducated children. The quotation from Geoge Santayana tells us that knowledge and information not as narrowly as classrooms. Paddy in rice field, farmers that sowing seeds, or cows could become teachers that teach something.   

In the same way, SATUNAMA’s Mobile Library team invited 76 elementary school students from grade 4 and 5 that comes from SATUNAMA’target groups’ sites in Gunungkidul, Kulonprogo, and Sleman. They learned outdoor on March 27 and 28, 2010. This camping agenda’s theme was “Children as heir and conservationist”.

These children accompanied by several teachers, community facilitators, and children facilitators from SATUNAMA for two days. The ceremony that held in  Village Learning Center, Wadas, Giri Purwo, Giri Mulyo, Kulon Progo invited children to learn and play using nature songs and friendship games. In the second day, they did outbound.

There were six stations where children could learn about organic farming, biogas, local food management, agro biodiversity, pond ecosystem, and river ecosystem.

In the first station, they learned about organic farming using soil, sands, and compost. Using hoe and small mattock, they started to mix all material in plastic poly-bag, watering and put that on areas that covered by sun.

In the next station, children learned about cattles that support organic farming. In this station, children observed on how a cow eats until produces manure for organic fertilizer. Isn’t that interesting?

After observing cattles, these children acted as biogas experts. They observed two cement tanks. The first tank was full with cattle manure. The second tank contained of gas result of bacterial decompostion. After 30 days decomposition, this gas would be distributed to houshold needs.

In the fifth post, children learned about a pond ecosystem. Padi, one of the children groups defined ecosystem as “Ecosystem is a living creature that lives and grows in ponds that needs each other.” The same group also wrote about seven ecosystem units with their advantages, such as fish, alga, water hyacinth, water, soil, waste biogas, stone and canvas.

After learning about a pond ecosystem, these children continued their journey. There were three stations that they hadn’t visit yet. But, they were still enthusiastic to walk even the sweat weted their bodies. Some of them enjoyed walking barefoot.

 

A liittle bit different with the other stations that learned about nature, in the sixth station, the children found a traditional food from Kulonprogo called gebleg. Gebleg was a healty food because it was cooked without chemical preservatives. The basic materials were from cassava that mix with garlic, salt, and oil. It was tastefull and a little bit sodden, but enough to fill the hungry belly.  
After eating gebleg, they went to the bio diversity station that placed near cacao garden. In this place, they learned about bio diversity that need to be protected and developed, where cacao was one of them. They also learned about cacao trees and the fruits. In their worksheets, there were several questions such as “What is cacao?” Five from seven groups answered that cacao was a material that used as milk mix, to make cakes, to be sold, to be eaten, to be sent to fabric, and as food ingredients. Those were not perceft answers, but they could show that one commodity could produce several products.

Satisfied with answers and questions about cocholate, the children went to the last station: a river that located behind Wadas Hill. The river that had brown water was a good ecosystem to be observed. They observed that river was clean and heathy to fullfill the daily need of the community.
The children looked so happy. Some of them were swimming or playing on the water. For several children, river was a fun place. They enjoyed playing in the water and wanted to linger their time there.
Finally, they finished visiting all of the stations. They were back to their tends for bathing. Some of them wanted to stay in wadas. Before closing the ceremony, Frans Tugimin, SATUNAMA director, was asking: “Still want to be here?”
“Yeesss..,” the children answered like a choir.
“What about making another camping?” continued Frans Tugimin.
“When?” asked the children in full of enthusiasm