By: Princess Dinasty (volunteer Panda Mobile)

I feel annoyed when I see a dirty environment, my morning mood is ruined by polluted air, especially when floods hamper daily activities. Yet I thought, "I never litter on the street, let alone in the gutter. I rarely drive my own car. I also don't use much plastic, and so on. This is the work of those who do not protect the environment." School lessons seem to have taught us to dispose of waste in its proper place. The definition of "where" is often twisted into "on the street", "in the gutter", or even "in the river". Ouch!

This is Panda Mobile, a platform provided by WWF-Indonesia to spread the spirit of conservation through volunteers. While WWF's rangers and animal experts are fighting on the battlefield, in the forests where the animals live, we volunteers are taking part in our own terrain, namely in the community, from children to adults. One such event took place last Sunday (24/07) at the Mercure Hotel, Central Jakarta. On the occasion of National Children's Day, we greeted the children from Sahabat Anak, a learning platform for marginalized children. Some of them are still in school while helping their parents make money, but some are not in school due to limitations. On that day, we invited them to foster a spirit of environmental care from an early age, starting from themselves and their own environment.

So that our little reminders about the environment are not just theoretical, Panda Mobile activities are designed to follow the child's point of view. Through interactive media, Panda Mobile tries to adjust children's reasoning about the importance of environmental sustainability for themselves, and for the animals and their habitats. I opened the activity by watching an animated movie about orangutan poaching. This was followed by a documentary on elephant poaching and the conflict between elephants and humans, which always manages to bring tears to my eyes, even though I have watched it many times.

Here, I emphasize to the children that the forest is the home of various flora and fauna that must be protected. Elephants will certainly not come out of the forest and disturb people in search of food if there is enough food for them. I also reminded them that wild animals are not pets because their home is in the forest. "Do you want to be forced to leave your home to live in the forest?" I asked. They answered in unison, "No!" That's how I and other volunteers gave the analogy. We also reminded them to dispose of trash in its proper place in their daily activities. Starting that day, I made them promise not to litter.

The activity then continued with storytelling from Mr. Ryan who told the story of Otan the Orangutan. The story was further solidified with a giant cranklek game that contained orangutan facts. They were very enthusiastic when they learned the fact that orangutans plant tree seeds to produce their food and they have a sharp memory to remember where they planted them. I also reminded them that if orangutans think this way, humans who also have a mind should be able to protect their nature like orangutans.

We, Panda Mobile's volunteers, believe that awareness of caring for the environment starting from a young age will have a big impact on the future of our earth, especially if done together, in line with the proverb "Little by little, eventually becomes a hill". Do not be silent and resigned. After all, the future of the earth is in our hands. Indifference is not the answer. Silence is not a solution. Theory that is not supported by practice will certainly not be able to run smoothly. I give applause and congratulations to those of you who live a conscious behavior of nature conservation. For those of you who are directly involved in raising the awareness of others by not doing negligence, participating in environmental campaigns, or providing counseling, I add high five. Greetings Sustainability!