By: Natalia Trita Agnika

Despite living near the "home" of the Javan Rhino, the children in Cilintang, Ujung Kulon have never met a Javan Rhino in person. In fact, some of them do not even have an idea of the physical form of the Javan Rhino. This was evident when the Panda Mobile team and WWF-Indonesia Ujung Kulon Program held a conservation education activity with HSBC volunteers for elementary school students as part of the World Rhino Day 2017 event which took place last Saturday (23/09).

The activity, which was attended by 200 students from SDN Ujung Jaya 1 and SDN Ujung Jaya 2, was opened with an introduction to WWF by Panda Mobile Coordinator, Pratama Aditya. After the introduction, Pratama asked one of the students to briefly explain about the Javan Rhino. "Rhinoceros has one maw, the body is gray," explained Tedi, a 6th grade student of Ujung Jaya 1 Elementary School. Tedi's courage was welcomed with loud applause by his friends.

Furthermore, the students received a complete explanation of the Javan Rhino from drh. Gita Alvernita Andre, a veterinarian from WWF-Indonesia Ujung Kulon Program. "In Indonesia, there are two species of rhinos, namely the Javanese Rhino and the Sumatran Rhino. The basic difference between the two rhinos is seen in their horns. The male Javanese Rhino has one horn, while the Sumatran Rhino has two. In addition, Javanese rhinos are hairless, while Sumatran rhinos have hair," explained drh. Gita. The students and volunteers from HSBC listened seriously to the explanation. The unique facts about rhinos have increased their knowledge. One of them was information on why rhinos like to wallow (mud bath). Apart from getting wet, rhinos wallow to clean insects that stick to their bodies.

On that occasion, drh. Gita also explained that currently, Javan Rhinos are only found in their natural habitat, namely in Ujung Kulon. Therefore, the way to observe Javan Rhinos is done by installing camera traps (camera traps) on trees in the forest. The monitoring teams will periodically retrieve the footage and replace the camera batteries.

After getting an explanation about rhinos, the students accompanied by volunteers from HSBC participated in various Panda Mobile activities which were divided into several posts, namely coloring posts, game posts, movie viewing posts, and recycling posts. The 4th grade students got the opportunity to join the coloring activity. They colored a picture of a Javan Rhino in its natural habitat. Concern for forest conservation was instilled in the 5th grade students through a snakes and ladders game. While various information about endangered animals was obtained by the 6th grade students through a movie.

The activity ended with a message to protect the environment around them, one of which is by reducing the use of plastic bags. The students were invited to use their own shopping bags that can be made by recycling used t-shirts. The Panda Mobile team practiced the method which was then followed by the students. They seemed enthusiastic and happy with their shopping bags. The environmental community, Trashbag Community, also shared information about the different types of waste and the time it takes to decompose them.

"Activities like this are very good but rarely given to our students. Hopefully, after this, there will be more regular education about the environment for our students," hoped one of the teachers from SDN Ujung Jaya 2.