Kandang Jurang Doank: Free Nature Education

STARTING POINT: Children and their parents listen attentively to instructors at the Blok Miring open amphitheater, where they explain the day's activities. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

Hundreds of children gathered cheerfully to learn together at Kandank Jurank Doank, a community nature "school" founded and managed by singer and TV presenter Dik Doank.

The school is located in the Elvita housing complex of Sawah Lama subdistrict in Ciputat, Tangerang, where Dik lives. It is surrounded by a perfect landscape with football and basketball courts, a library, rumah pintar (activities center) and a small music studio. Other facilities include rice fields, fish ponds, an outbound playground, railroads and Blok Miring, which has an open amphitheater.

In high spirits, the children recently sat at the Blok Miring to hear instructions from Dik Doank and friends on what to do during class.

Dik himself usually greets the students at the opening of the Sunday class: "Adik-adik (little sisters/brothers), how are you today? Welcome back to Kandank Jurank Doank -- it's great to see you again!"

He encouraged the children who were visiting the school to ask as many questions as possible about everything and anything they wanted to know about the lesson of the day.

"Today, we will learn how to make bags and pencil cases from used cardboard and soft drink cans, and after the session, you will follow a series of outbound activities in groups," Dik said. "Have you prepared scissors, glue, used cans and cardboard as we told you last week?"

"Sudah, Kakak! (Yes, big brother)" the children answered in unison.

Dik divided the students into several groups to be guided by dozens of volunteers in the day's activities.

The outbound activity involved climbing, walking across a bamboo pole in the rice field and fishing.

OVER THE POND: An outbound activities facility at the school offers children some wet fun, with a pond and a suspended bamboo pole. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

The school is open from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Sunday, and is free of charge.

Wearing play clothes and flip-flops, and carrying schoolbags containing coloring pencils, rulers and paper for class, dozens of children come enthusiastically to Kandank Jurank Doank every Sunday for the extra lessons.

One of the children, 8 year-old Bianca, looked up curiously earlier this month, when The Jakarta Post approached her and her friends with a camera in hand.

"Are you going to take pictures and write a story about us?" she asked.

Bianca, who is nicknamed "Chacha", is a student at Pondok Ranji state elementary school. She said she enjoyed learning at Kandank Jurank Doank, because she and her friends could learn things they did not at a formal school.

"We don't have to pay for everything we learn at this school, and the kakak-kakak are very kind," she told the Post, referring to the volunteer instructors as "big brothers and sisters".

Speaking with the Post while observing the children, Nurhayati Khavivah, 36, who lives in Pamulang, said she brought her 7 year-old daughter to Kandank Jurank Doank because she wanted her daughter to learn about nature and play with other children in beautiful surroundings.

"My husband and I found it difficult to find simple words to explain about nature to my curious daughter," she added.

The mother of two said all activities at the nature school were highly valuable for the children, because formal schools did not provide the interactive programs, outdoor activities or exposure to celebrities that Kandank Jurank Doank did.

Other parents also praised Dik Doank for the attention he had given to children's education through establishing the school.

Dik Doank said he had initially established a painting and music learning group for about a dozen children in the neighborhood when he moved to the complex in 1994.

Over time, the learning group developed into the Kandank Jurank Doank community school, which now has 2,500 regular students from the neighborhood and nearby subdistricts.

The children can try a number of activities at the school, from painting to crafts, from music to singing, and from football to nature walks.

"We frequently invite celebrities as star lecturers, and the lessons we present each time are adjusted to the guest star's field. If we have no guest star, I usually handle the classes myself, along with 45 crew members," Dik said.

He said the crew all worked on a volunteer basis, without pay.

"All of them are volunteers who have a concern for children's education. Through this school, we want to create a nation that does not imitate other nations, but one that has its own identity," Dik said.

GREEN ACT

Jakarta Green Monster held series of competitions for school students and public to commemorate World Wetland Day 2008 in February. The NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) themed the competition “Conserving Wetland to Protect Jakarta” and offered contest categories in feature writing, painting, waste recycling and photography. The winning piece by Khusnul of YMIK I Manggarai South Jakarta exposed about Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve. The reserve is a mangrove forest, an ecosystem which is environmentally very important for a metropolis Jakarta.

Mangrove forests function to absorb excess rainwater, prevent coastal abrasion and floods, and provide diverse kinds of marine life. Unfortunately, the Muara Karang’s mangrove forest is under threat as the impact of the uncontrollable housing complexes constructions in the area. In addition, malls and trade centers have also been built wildly in open spaces reserved for water parking area. So, when rain pours down, the capital is severely flooded.

Besides to secure the coastal belt, mangrove forest is home to monkeys, marsh birds, monitor lizards and hundreds of insect species. But the forest is now also threatened by huge and endless garbage dumped by residents of the capital into rivers of Ciliwung or Angke which terminate in the reserve. The capital’s 12 million populations are not really aware of the existence of the reserve and its role in sustaining their life.

A NEW THREAT TO GLOBAL WARMING ACCELERATES

Indonesian environmental activists reject a regulation imposing a new scheme of forest exploitation fees on non forestry firms. They demanded the revocation of the regulation since it would encourage more companies to exploit the forests and destroy them after all.

To make use of the protected forests, the regulation only requires companies annual payment of Rp. 1.5 million (US$ 1,500,-) per-hectare for oil and gas exploration, and Rp. 1.2 miilion (US$ 1,200,-) for production forests. “The regulation is legally flawed and must be withdrawn”, said Rino Subagyo, executive director of Indonesian Center for Environment Law (ICEL).

A key 1999 forestry law prohibits open-pit mining in protected forests due to the massive environmental destruction it brings about. Greenomics Indonesia agreed that the new fee-scheme regulation should be revoked. Indonesia which has just hosted world conference on environment seems to have no idea how such a scheme regulation can bring about intolerable destruction not only of environment but of human life sustainability as well.

Euphoria on global warming which narrows down to climate change issue appears to be a mere fuss among the elite. Seminars or conferences are organized just to bargain or make a deal between the developed and the developing countries. Because practically some developed countries are reluctant to ratify the resolution on global warming. If this practice sustains, a real threat to human extinction is just soon to happen.

JOIN EARTH HOUR, SWITCH OFF THE LIGHTS

Following the last year’s Earth Hour in Australia, where 2.2 million Sydneysiders, including cities of Atlanta, San Francisco, Bangkok, Ottawa, Dublin, Vancouver, Montreal, and Phoenix, powered-down for an hour, as many as 30 million people are tipped to switch off lights and televisions around the world on Earth Hour this March 29, 2008. they joined Copenhagen and Aarhus, Manila, Fiji’s capital Suva, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Christchurch, Toronto, Odense and Aalborg, as well as major Australian cities including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and the national capital of Canberra.

Earth Hour invites residents in participating cities to switch off lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour at 8 p.m. to raise awareness of carbon emissions that cause global warming. “Climate change is truly a global issue and people around the world are demanding action” said Andy Ridley, Earth Hour’s executive director.

During last year’s Sydney event, restaurants used candles and other iconic building plunged into darkness including Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the 553-meter CN Tower in Toronto. Essential lights, however, were kept on for safety reason. The event, according to Power provider energy Australia, cut electricity consumption by 10.2 percent.