Indramayu has become among the few regencies to adopt environmental education curriculum in schools. 

The adoption of the curriculum, which is currently focused on mangrove conservation and natural disaster mitigation, is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of mangrove ecosystems in coastal areas. 

Hendra Gunawan, principal researcher at the Innovation, Research and Development Center at the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s office in Gunung Batu, Bogor, said the government had distributed school textbooks on mangrove conservation in September 2017. The books were specially designed for fourth, fifth and sixth graders, he added.

The government distributed student worksheets and teacher guidelines in September this year to complete the textbooks, Hendra said. Environmental education had become part of  the curriculum in several areas, including Indramayu, he went on.

Hendra said books for fourth graders introduced biodiversity, while for fifth graders, the books talked mainly about how they could identify flora and fauna in the mangrove ecosystem.

Meanwhile in textbooks for sixth graders, students can learn about the causes of mangrove ecosystem damage and various measures that can be employed to conserve mangroves and mitigate natural disasters in coastal areas, said Hendra, who is also a Bogor Agricultural University lecturer.

Supported by teachers, researchers and staff members from the Indramayu Education Agency and the Plant Conservation Center at the Bogor Botanical Gardens, Hendra helped compose the textbooks for Indramayu students.

The books are also part of the Indramayu administration’s efforts to develop the Karangsong Mangrove Center. (ebf)

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