News | 31 March 2010
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SD Laboratorium (Elementary Students) Learn About Recycling Waste

About 50 students aged nine and ten from SD Laboratorium Malang, an elementary school in Malang city, East Java, gathered in the school yard on Tuesday, 23 March 2010. Their hands were holding hand shovels, pieces of paper, cartons, Styrofoam pieces, fruit skins, dead leaves, etc. What they were doing? Apparently, they were learning about waste decomposition, what was compostable and what was not. What they were holding were examples of the waste kinds and they were about to dig holes in their school yard.

These students were participants of extracurricular program called Living Environment. Miss Ririn, the advisor teacher said, "We want to raise students’ awareness to take care of their environment in their early life". Petungsewu Wildlife Education Center (P-WEC) that has been assigned to be a keynote speaker and guide in the program agreed to the teacher’s statement. Once in a week, students of the fourth grade meet P-WEC education team to learn about recycling waste.

On that Tuesday, they practiced out waste decomposition on the first step. They dug a 40 cm diameter hole, 60 cm depth, where they put in the waste, buried it, and marked it to observe the difference the following week.

These students would learn many things about environment, nature and wildlife from P-WEC. Not only the activities are carried out within school area, but also outside their school.