Ecocamp 2009: Enticing Children to Work The Rice Fields and Recognize Biodiversities

Sukabumi(03/07)-EE (Environmental Education) unit organized its annual program called Ecocamp, an environmentally-friendly children vacation program. This ninth ecocamp took place in recreational nature park Situ Gunung, located in the edge of Mt.Pangrango, Kadu Dampit Subdistrict, Sukabumi. From Tuesday (30/06) to Thursday (2/07), tens of children in the age group of 9-14 years enthusiastically participated the whole event.

Ecocamp group arrived in Situ Gunung at about 12 a.m. After having lunch, all participants were guided to pitch their tents in the provided area (Tegal Arben camping ground). They were divided into 5 groups, and each group was assisted by a WWF fasilitator. It was an easy task for all participants. Not more than 30 minutes, five tents had been successfully pitched.

First task was well completed. Next challenge, they had go tracking in open-air “battlefield” to get to Situ Gunung lake. All along the track, participants learned various Situ Gunung plant for instance agathis wood (dammar), rasamala, and other plants. Sonny, one of Ecocamp Fasilitators who led the tracking, patiently fielded questions from all participants. While, animal species found was “lutung” (one of ape species).

After along walk for more than an hour, they finally arrived in Situ Gunung lake. In the twinkling of an eye, it looked like a nature lake. But as a fact, it’s an articial lake made by nobility of Mataram (renowned Islamic Kingdom in Java Islan) named Rangga Jagad Syahadana or known as Mbah Jalun. Eco camp participants listened attentively to Sonny’s explanation about Situ Gunung lake history.

It wasn’t the end of Situ Gunung exploration. In the second day, the children also gained new experiences. They had a chance to visit a village located in Kadu Dampit Subdistrict and learn to be a farmer. From plowing rice field with water buffalo to planting rice. One of the participants, Keisha, a fifth grader, said she was very pleased participating in “working the rice field” part. “I just learned plowing the rice field with water buffalo. It was really exciting although my clothes badly stained. I really enjoyed it. Moreover, I was taught how to plant rice,” Keisha added enthusiastically.

After working the rice field, the children then visited Curug Sawer waterfall. The waterfall is the water source for the local people. Their exhaustion due to long walk (2km far) instantly went away after seeing the beauty of Curug Sawer waterfall. They not only swam, but also learned about how to identify water quality using bioindicator.

The last day, all participants visited cheese factory located in Bukit Baros, Sukabumi. They observed the process of making cheese, starting from milking cows in Bukit Baros farm to cheese processing. Environment Education Support Officer WWF-Indonesia, Oni Suryani Tjandrawati expected ecocamp 2009 to become an effective learning tool for all participants so that they would gain new experience concering nature and recognize mutual relationship between human and nature. “Ecocamp aimed to entice children to recognize the nature. Furthermore, it can increase their awareness and concern about nature. Since they are our next generation who will inherit nature and its resources,” Oni said.