The TELADAN Program is one of the Tanoto Foundation’s initiatives to build an excellent and resilient future generation of leaders to contribute positively to Indonesia.
With a desire to make a tangible impact, UGM students who are Teladan scholarship recipients and members of the group The Stream Liners successfully conducted a series of activities to raise awareness about sustainable waste management systems at the elementary school level in Yogyakarta.
This program was held at SDN 1 Jetis, and workshops were conducted from mid-March to April.
Elementary school age was chosen because schools, as miniatures of society, can be a place to instill good practices from an early age, including the habit of sorting and processing waste, which is believed to provide benefits such as fostering environmental awareness and teaching responsibility towards the environment.
“Our activities included educational sessions on waste sorting and organic waste processing techniques. Participants were given the opportunity to learn directly from experts in waste management and environmental fields,” said Naufal, a member of The Stream Liners, during an interview.
He added that the series of workshop activities also involved several speakers, including the Yogyakarta Environmental Agency (DLH), the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Yogyakarta, a sustainable waste management application–RAPEL, and a collective group of child education practitioners and activists in Indonesia–Guru Bumi.
The Stream Liners collaborated with numerous parties to instill the belief that poorly managed waste could negatively impact public health and the environmental ecosystem. Besides causing unpleasant odors, it also poses a risk of various diseases.
“Through this workshop, we discussed and shared knowledge with teachers at the forefront of education on managing waste effectively and sustainably,” added Naufal.
He hopes that teachers can later educate students through child-friendly educational media so that they understand the importance of proper waste management and can apply this knowledge in their daily lives.
The highlight of the workshop series was held on May 17 to celebrate Earth Day. During this event, Guru Bumi engagingly provided education through various games and interactive activities, resulting in high enthusiasm from the SDN 1 Jetis students towards the waste sorting material.
“By educating students, one family gets educated. The more students are educated about the environment, the more citizens become aware of the importance of protecting the environment,” concluded Naufal.
Reportage and Photo: Naufal
Author: Triya Andriyani