UGM students are teaching children environmental education in Parangkusumo, Yogyakarta’s coastal area.
Through the Green Generation program, which focuses on “Raising Environmental Awareness through Collective Optimization of Plastic Waste on Children in Gardu Action Parangkusumo,” they educate children by creating crafts from plastic waste.
As known, plastic waste remains a severe issue for residents in the Parangkusumo Beach coastal area.
“Every month, there are approximately 7 tons of waste deposited in the Gardu Action waste collection center, originating from tourist and household waste in the surrounding area,” said team leader Razif.
“The accumulation of waste disrupts children’s play and learning activities and causes environmental pollution in Parangkusumo Beach.”
Driven by this situation, Razif and the team took action to create an environmental education program by collaborating with the “Buku Berbagi” community, a community partner and manager of Gardu Action.
The program began with interactive games and explained the importance of protecting the environment to the children. These coastal children were also taught how to separate waste based on its characteristics correctly.
After that, the team and Gardu Action managers invited the children to create art from the available plastic waste.
They processed about 25 gallons of disposable plastic, plastic bags, and plastic bottles, turning them into pots. The children also created plastic flowers and pinwheels. They transformed their creative ideas into various motifs and painted each creation.
Razif explained that through this program, they hope to increase the children’s early understanding of caring for their environment.
“They live alongside the environment, so it is essential to understand their responsibility in protecting it, especially from plastic waste pollution,” Razif said.
“That’s why we structured the program as creatively as possible so that children would be more interested and enthusiastic about participating in these activities.”
The output produced so far is an educational storybook for children, the result of collaboration between the UGM team and the Gardu Action managers.
Through the Student Creativity Program organized by the Ministry of Education and Culture, it is hoped that this program can positively impact children’s character development.
The program, which has been running since last June and will continue until November, is designed to increase awareness of environmental protection’s importance and enhance waste management knowledge.
Author: Ika