By: Fina Belia (Volunteer Earth Panda)

After last year's celebration of World Environment Day in West Java Province, this year it was Panda Mobile's turn. The Panda Mobile truck, supported by volunteers from Bumi Panda, was present at a series of events organized by the West Java Regional Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) at Gedung Sate, Bandung on Wednesday (07/27).

The event involved several schools and environmental activist communities in West Java. Art performances and exhibitions of used goods crafts from each school and community enlivened the environmental-themed activities. The crafts made were the work of students whose schools were invited on that day, ranging from elementary, junior high, high school, and vocational schools in Bandung. Some of the schools that held exhibitions were SDN BPK Penabur Bandung, SDN Buah Batu Selatan, SMPN 34 Bandung, SD Darul Hikam, SMKN 8 Bandung, SMKN 3 Bandung, and many more. In addition to representatives of schools in Bandung, the event was also attended by representatives of each school and environmental activists from various regions in West Java.

Since the morning before the event opened, the exhibition was ready and crowded with visitors. The Panda Mobile team has also been preparing to open the activity since 08.00 WIB. Elementary and junior high school students were seen passing around the Panda Mobile truck. They were very curious about the six-wheeled truck that looked interesting with several stuffed animals placed inside the truck. The body of the Panda Mobile truck itself is colorful and provides a lot of information about umbrella animals and protected animals. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, the volunteers started inviting the children to get on the truck and deliver conservation messages to them.

The first activity on the Panda Mobile truck was storytelling. Mr. Ryan from the Panda Mobile team opened the event by joking with the children and inviting them to get to know WWF more closely. The introduction of WWF began by giving examples of bad human habits that damage nature, especially forests which are the habitat of endangered animals in Indonesia. Through these examples, Kak Ryan linked them to the purpose and function of the establishment of WWF. The issue of the greenhouse effect was again raised to give the students a clear picture of the dangers of an environmentally unfriendly lifestyle. Next, Kak Ryan started the storytelling activity with the main characters of baby orangutans and Sumatran tigers whose populations are declining due to poaching by humans. The children laughed occasionally because the characters acted funny and adorable. The children who attended the session were even happier when Mr. Ryan distributed gifts in the form of key chains to each child who attended this first session.

After listening to the storytelling, the students were even more curious about the Panda Mobile truck. Many of them queued up to get on the truck and asked various questions related to WWF, animals that are conserved, and other things related to environmental issues. They took turns with other school children who had queued to get their turn. Some children who have listened to storytelling also sat on the truck to follow the activities in the next session, which is watching an animated movie.

In celebration of Global Tiger Day, which is commemorated every July 29, the animated movie screened was titled "Tiger Hunter". The movie tells the story of a forest that is the habitat of rare animals and the declining population of Sumatran tigers. The children were very immersed in the movie, as seen from their laughter when there was a funny scene in the animated movie and the number of children who stood in the truck just because they wanted to see more clearly the movie that was being played. On subsequent occasions, several other films related to forests, environmentally friendly lifestyles, and the effects of environmental damage were also screened at this session.

The next activity held on the Panda Mobile truck was coloring. The theme was still about endangered animals that are the focus of WWF-Indonesia's conservation work. The volunteers distributed paper with pictures of endangered animals for the children to color. Some of the children already knew the special characteristics of each animal as seen from the color choices made by them. The coloring activity lasted until 13.00 WIB and became the end of the Panda Mobile activity at Gedung Sate.

The commemoration of World Environment Day was held with the hope of educating the public in an effort to preserve the earth and save the earth from damage. The presence of Panda Mobile is a special attraction because it is one of the unique environmental education media. At the end of the event, Panda Mobile was awarded with the best environmental education educator category.