Elementary school plants trees for environmental program

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 09/12/2007 2:26 PM | National

Trisha Sertori, Contributor, Gianyar

A little school of around 150 students has won its place in an environment in education award, just a year after joining the national program.

Singakerta elementary school No. 5, in Gianyar, was certified in the Adiwiyata Schools National Environment Award.

It is only one of two schools in Bali selected to join the central government's Adiwiyata Living Environment Program, developed by the State Ministry for the Environment and the National Education Ministry.

Principal Wayan Kelasa Ma Pd. said the Adiwiyata Living Environment Program began as a pilot project in Java in 2005 and Singakerta joined in 2006, along with a school from Karangasem in Bali and others in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

Currently there are just 12 schools across the nation taking part in the program under strict criteria set by the Adiwiyata project.

According to Kelasa, the living environment program focuses not only on the natural environment, but also on the constructed environment, with students active in taking care of their school.

And that care is seen in the school's neat classrooms, hygienic toilets and swept verandahs, all set in the school's lush and colorful garden. Kelasa said the garden is one of the beneficiaries of the school's compost pile, with the excess compost collected by local farmers to be used on their fields.

""The students and teachers take care of it all. They work in roster groups with some on the gardens, others cleaning the classrooms and others looking after the toilets. And everyone works on the recycling by separating rubbish into organic waste for compost and plastic. It's about taking responsibility for what we have together,"" said Kelasa.

That responsibility crosses the boundary between school and the local community, says Kelasa, with parents and the community also engaged in the program.

Last year students and teachers raised 150 jackfruit trees from seeds and then planted them at their homes, with the help of parents. A year on and some of the trees are five meters tall. Pinang palms were this year's seeds and tree planting program. The streets of the community are now home to more than 100 Pinangs grown from seeds by the students.

""The first year we did the jackfruit trees because they offer us fruit, leaves, timber and shade. Jackfruit leaves are used to wrap small cakes, the fruits used in cooking and in our religious celebrations and the wood of the jackfruit is one of the best we have in Bali.

""This year we wanted the Pinang palms because they give shade along the road and they also give fruit and the leaves are used in celebrations. In the past there were a lot of Pinang growing here, but they have been slowly disappearing, which is another reason for planting Pinangs this year,"" Kelasa said.

Funding for Singakerta's membership in the Adiwiyata project began in 2006 with a one-off Rp 5 million grant from Gianyar regency and assistance from the Bali Organic Association (BOA) and local medicinal garden Puri Darmai.

""The school was appointed by Gianyar regency to join the program and we have also had a lot of help from BOA and Puri Darmai. Puri Darmai invited the students to give performances and help keep the place tidy when guests are coming. All that helps to grow the program,"" said Kelasa.

The school's partnership with Puri Darmai will expand this year with students learning more about medicinal plants and their uses, says Kelasa, knowledge that will serve them for the rest of their lives and give them the skills to establish their own medicinal gardens.

""Growing seeds and planting trees is so valuable for the students because they see how they can make a difference; a difference that lasts decades or longer. I really believe that when children begin learning about their environment from six years old, they love that environment and want to take care of it for the rest of their lives,"" Kelasa said.

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