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Jakartans find an oasis at the Flora and Fauna Expo 2017
A spot of green: Visitors attend the Flora and Fauna expo 2017 at Banteng Square in Central Jakarta on Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-center">A spot of green: Visitors attend the Flora and Fauna expo 2017 at Banteng Square in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. The exhibition, in which participants sell plants and pets, is being held for a month, from July 21 to Aug. 21.(JP/Seto Wardhana)
A brown and white Norwich Cropper wowed a group of junior high school students who laughed as the pigeon with its bulging balloon-like throat appeared to attempt somersaults.
Other groups of students enjoyed taking picture of hibiscus, marigolds and other flowers with their professional cameras.
The students were among the many Jakarta residents who flocked to Flona 2017, an annual month long flora and fauna expo held in Banteng Square, Central Jakarta on Tuesday.
This was the first year since it first launch in 1984 that the Jakarta Forestry Agency cooperated with the Jakarta Education Agency to involve students in the annual plant and animal expo. Held at Banteng Square, the expo, which runs from July 21 to Aug. 21, is an oasis amid the city’s traffic congestion. Filled with lush trees, various greenery and the sounds of birds chirping, visitors enter a tropical forest with a twist of merry decorations.
To promote the event to students, the Education Agency sent letters to every school across the capital directing them to send their students to the expo, held from July 21 to Aug. 21, Jakarta Education Agency deputy head Bowo Irianto said.
“It’s not compulsory but we suggest schools participate. This event is good for the students because they can gain an appreciation of the diversity of flora and fauna. Hopefully the experience will inspire them to care more about their environment and its creatures,” Bowo told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
An eighth grader, Venny Tanaka, who said she had visited Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta as well as Taman Safari and the Botanical Gardens in Bogor, expressed amazement at the animals and plants at Flona 2017.
“I have never seen a pigeon like that, with a balloon on its neck,” the student from Garuda junior high in West Jakarta said, referring to the Norwich Cropper, which originates from the Netherlands.
She said it was also the first time she had seen a lotus. Similarly, her senior Neo Leonardo was glad to see animals that he had previously only seen in pictures.
“I’ve seen owls in pictures but today I saw one right in front of my own eyes,” Neo said with a beaming smile, adding that he kept goldfish at home and that after seeing some of the plants at the expo, he planned to save money to buy lavender and orchids.
Venny and Neo came with three other friends as well as their teacher. They said they would make reports for the school magazine.
Meanwhile, Evangeline Mintargo, 15, visited the expo with seven schoolmates and their photography extracurricular instructor from a Catholic junior high school in Central Jakarta. She aimed to practice a new photography technique by taking pictures of the flowers at the expo.
An official of the Jakarta Forestry Agency, Henri Perez Sitorus, said the expo, themed “Carnival in the Forest,” aimed to educate residents, especially students, about environmental sustainability.
Dewi R. Syam, president director of event organizer firm PT Malik Ghonniyu Razaak, said she had set a target of Rp 15 billion (US$ 1.13 million) in transactions and 500,000 visitors for the one month event. There are also 180 different participants this year, up from 113 last year.
The organizer also staged performances, singing bird competitions and pet fashion shows to attract more visitors.
Meanwhile, Asmoro Srihartanto of Toko Trubus plant shop claimed the store had earned Rp 400 million in little more than two weeks while last year their total income was only Rp 450 million. He is selling a range of quality seeds, the most popular of which have been tropical dates, red pomelo and Malaysian Musang King durian.
Connie Rosaline, 44, visited the expo with five of her family members. She bought yellow oncidium and violet orchids, a baby turtle and its enclosure, and bird food for Rp 175,000 in total.
“This is like a mini forest, which is good for a family outing. We can touch the plants and interact with the animals while learning about them,” the North Jakarta resident said. (dra)
