Introducing, I am Hanna Astaranti. One of three Panda Mobile coordinators who is also an Engagement Activation Officer at WWF-Indonesia. It was very exciting when I was told that I could join WWF-Indonesia's Partnership team, after having been a Panda Mobile volunteer for four years.

Oh yes, I would like to tell you a bit about my journey as a Panda Mobile volunteer. In 2014, there was an announcement to volunteer for an environmental-themed project on campus. I, who had always been interested in nature conservation, was not going to miss the opportunity. To make a long story short, I was introduced to the coordinator of Panda Mobile, and was then offered to become a volunteer. That was my introduction to WWF-Indonesia, which was also the first step to fulfilling my childhood dream.

During my time as a volunteer, I had many new experiences. Panda Mobile itself does a lot of work in schools. We had to deal with students from kindergarten to high school, which gave us a better understanding of how to interact with students. My communication skills also improved with the frequency of meeting external parties of various ages. Of course, besides communication skills, I also learned a lot about how to negotiate and improvise. For example, when there was a problem that delayed Panda Mobile's activities, we were encouraged to take the initiative to find a way out so that the activities continued to run smoothly.

I also met a lot of new people with cool experiences. At first, I felt insecure because some of the volunteers had been involved in conservation for a long time or were nature-loving students. However, they didn't discriminate between backgrounds, and still gave me new knowledge that made me even more interested in conservation.

One day, one of the volunteers invited me to go to a park in Jakarta. We took a moment to sharpen our senses. There, he taught me to be more sensitive to the biodiversity around us, especially when we are in a big city far from the forest. We observed insects, birds, and biota in the ditch. Although the variety was not as much as what I learned in biology, this experience was the first step to getting to know the world of conservation, especially fauna.

Unexpectedly, in early 2018 I received an offer to become the Panda Mobile coordinator and replace the previous coordinator. Without any hesitation, I tried my luck. In March, I officially joined WWF-Indonesia. The deeper I went, the smaller I felt, because it turns out that the world of nature conservation is very complex with broad and new discussions.

2019 was the most exciting year during my time at WWF-Indonesia. It started with participating in Kumpul Bareng Earth Hour Indonesia, where I met with representatives of young people from Sabang to Merauke to discuss environmental issues in their respective regions. Then in February I had the opportunity to accompany the Marine & Fisheries Manager to give a presentation at Airlangga University, Surabaya, and continued by attending a dinner invitation at the residence of the Mayor of Surabaya! So many things happened that year. The end of the year was closed by attending the Asia Pacific Growth Seminar in Lombok with participants from several countries in Asia and Australia. There, I learned how to do fundraising that is commonly done by other countries. The knowledge I gained can be adopted for the school-to-school program with Panda Mobile.

I don't think the word "lucky" can describe how grateful I am for my current position. With the amount of knowledge I have absorbed, I will channel my ideas and energy into Panda Mobile. If there's a question, will I stay here for long? Maybe if there is an opportunity to develop myself, I will take it. However, I will channel that knowledge back to Panda Mobile so that it can further develop in delivering conservation messages to a wider community, for a comfortable earth for our children and grandchildren to live in.