Being an environmentally conscious generation, they are also expected to engage in mangrove-rehabilitation activities.

This explained why the Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM), along with North Sumatra Education Office launched the mangrove module in the senior high school curriculum.

The first-ever launch of the environmental, particularly mangrove, module, is a strategic step, which will empower the younger generation with the quality of loving the environment so as to allow them to manage a living environment in a friendly and sustainable way.

“In order to recover mangrove ecosystems from destruction, the BRGM is tasked with rehabilitating mangroves. Apart from planting mangroves under the 3M [recovery, multiplication and maintenance] principle, we collaborate with the education office to prepare the mangrove module under which the students can learn, which allows them to become individuals who love the environment,” Suwignya Utama, head of the BRGM’s Education and Socialization Working Group, said.

In implementing the environmental education with a mangrove theme, several steps have to be taken. They include reinforcing the shared understanding, integrating mangrove learning into the Merdeka curriculum, the preparation of the mangrove-themed Pancasila Profile Reinforcement Project (P5), finalization and simulation of P5 module application, teacher training and the launch of modules and implementing the P5-thematic mangroves in North Sumatra,

North Sumatra provincial administration assistant Lies Handayani Siregar expressed appreciation for the launch of the mangrove curriculum.

Environmental protection is a collective effort and with the mangrove curriculum in school, the younger generation is expected to actively engage in implementing mangrove rehabilitation.

Lies said the mangrove rehabilitation program could not be carried out alone by any one institution. “Through the launch, we hope that the mangrove preservation program can run smoothly and the younger generation can be involved in the activity,” Lies said.

Meanwhile, North Sumatra Education Office secretary Roedy Fahrizal, who attended the event, said the office was preparing teachers before they performed their task of teaching the students.

“We are preparing the lessons and making sure the readiness of teachers, who hopefully we can integrate into the upcoming curriculum. This way, we hope that it won’t be just a glimpse of regulation but the children are directly involved in rehabilitating mangroves,” Roedy said.

The module is part of the P5 in the Merdeka curriculum, themed, “Wise Living with Mangroves”.

The module is designed to assist teachers in delivering materials associated with mangrove protection, from the basic understanding of ecosystems to concrete actions that students can take to foster their love for the environment and contribute to safeguarding the environment.

To gain a more in-depth understanding of mangrove ecosystem, the teachers visited mangrove ecotourism sites.

Teachers visit mangrove ecotourism sites to study more in-depth about mangrove ecosystems

Prior to the official launch of the curriculum, teachers in North Sumatra were equipped with the knowledge of the materials and understanding about the mangrove-themed environment education. They also visited Batubara Mangrove Park in Batubara regency, North Sumatra to recognize mangrove ecosystems and their management.

Apart from learning the biophysics of mangrove ecosystems, the teachers were also asked to deepen and provide solutions for local social and economic concerns.

With the full support from teachers that will serve as facilitators, the students will, surely, gain better knowledge and skills to understand and participate in environmental preservation endeavors, especially mangroves.