By: Vivian (Volunteer Panda Mobile)

Every time we get an invitation from a school, Panda Mobile always tries to invite students to directly apply knowledge about the environment through interesting activities. This time, in response to an invitation from Jubilee Elementary School in Sunter, North Jakarta, Panda Mobile introduced hydroponics to students and invited them to practice it.

Taking place last Wednesday (24/01), students in grades 5 and 6 of SD Jubilee received information about hydroponics, planting using water without using soil by emphasizing the nutritional needs of plants. They made planting media from used plastic bottles that are usually thrown into the trash. "So the plastic bottle waste around us can be reprocessed into useful items, such as hydroponics that we do," explained Sani Firmansyah, WWF-Indonesia's Supporter Center Officer.

The students were very enthusiastic about the activity. Many questions were asked to the Panda Mobile volunteers. "Sis, can we plant guava trees using hydroponic techniques?" asked Marco, a 5th grade student. "Because guava trees are quite large, so it's best to plant them in the ground. To try hydroponics, you can plant vegetable plants," answered Sani.

The 6th grade students then made water observations using Panda Mobile's water laboratory facilities accompanied by the volunteers. The students were taught how to look at bacteria in the water through a microscope.

No less interesting activities were also carried out by students in grades 1-4. They listened to a story told by Kak Ryan about animals in the sea and why their habitat needs to be protected. "So younger siblings, if you go to the beach, don't litter because the garbage in the sea can be eaten by sea turtles and make them die," said Kak Ryan during the storytelling.

At the end of the activity, the students were invited to express their ideas to reflect on what they got in the day's activities. "I thank the Panda Mobile team for sharing information at Jubilee School through this fun activity. Hopefully our children can care more about the environment," said Mamta, a teacher at Jubilee Elementary School.

The students promised to protect the environment, which is the habitat of animals and humans. The values embedded in Jubilee Elementary School students are expected to have a positive impact on the surrounding environment. This Panda Mobile activity is also expected to be the beginning of Panda Mobile's collaboration with Jubilee Elementary School in the future.