PANDA MOBILE INVITES PEOPLE TO USE WATER WISELY
"How many liters of water are used in one toilet flush?"
"Hmm 1.5 liters or 2 liters?"
The facilitator smiled, "One toilet flush requires more than 25 liters of water!"
"Hmm 1.5 liters or 2 liters?"
Saturday, September 21, 2019, Raisha Safira, a student of one of the universities in Jakarta came to WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile booth at the Central Park Mall shopping center. She was interested in observing the papier mache tiger on display. The 1.5-meter tiger statue is part of the attributes that WWF-Indonesia brought to get the attention of mall visitors to stop by and listen to conservation messages.
That day, WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile and HSBC were indeed conducting activities to educate the public about the wise use of water or Water Wise Games. To attract more visitors, the team not only displayed the papier mache tiger, but also showed a short video on Indonesian nature conservation on a plasma TV. The booth was also equipped with water testing tools ranging from pH meters, microscopes, to interactive game equipment.
The team's strategy to attract visitors proved successful! Raisha and other visitors who had entered the booth then listened to a brief explanation about water in the world. Earth is called the "blue planet" because most of its surface is covered by water. However, about 97 percent of the world's water is saltwater in the ocean. The other two percent is in the form of ice or glaciers. Fresh water makes up only one percent of the water on Earth.
Next, visitors who come to the Water Wise Games booth are invited to test the quality of water samples brought in a mini laboratory using microscopes and other tools. Raisha also participated in testing the water samples provided by the facilitator. She and other visitors observed the water and were surprised to see how many bacteria were in one drop of polluted water.
In between observing the bacteria, the Panda Mobile team slipped an educational message to visitors to always save water. "If you are not using water, you should turn off the tap first. If the water runs out, well, we might have to bathe and drink water full of bacteria like this," explained Fara from the Panda Mobile team.
From this experience, Raisha realized that the condition of water in the world is already alarming. "So, water conservation is important. Water utilization must be done wisely, especially in the dry season," Raisha said.
After the water testing session, the Panda Mobile team invited visitors to play the "Hidden Water" guessing game. The facilitator brought out a board with pictures of an egg, a kilogram of corn, a toilet seat with a flush, and a car being washed using a home hose and washed by a car wash service. "How many liters of water does it take to produce or perform each activity in the picture?" the Panda Mobile team asked. Raisha tried to guess. "It must not be more than one liter to produce one egg, right? One toilet flush I think will only consume 1.5 liters, right? Or 2 liters?" guessed Raisha.
The facilitator smiled at Raisha's answer. She revealed the numbers behind the pictures one by one. Raisha was speechless, shocked, disbelieving. How could it not be, to produce one egg it takes about 200 liters of water. Meanwhile, one toilet flush requires more than 25 liters of water!
So, imagine how much water we waste every day. This water is needed by all living things, including animals and plants to survive. In fact, the amount of water in the world is very limited.
Now, Raisha's view on the condition of nature and environmentally friendly lifestyle has changed after doing activities at WWF-Indonesia's Water Wise booth. "Apparently, the water that we need so much, which we thought would always be there, is now on the verge of extinction. We can all contribute to saving water and life, not just environmental activists. We can all start from small things, from ourselves," Raisha concluded with enthusiasm.
Raisha's story is one of the many activities carried out by the Panda Mobile team at the end of 2019. At the end of last year, WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile also actively visited schools to conduct discussions related to the wise use of water, and other environmental conservation education. From September to December 2019, water-related education was conducted in Bango Children-Friendly Integrated Public Space (RPTRA), Akasia Tebet RPTRA, Little Sunshine School, Tanjung Duren 01 Pagi Elementary School, and even in the Ciliwung River directly. Activities ranged from mini labs, storytelling, watching short films with educational content about water such as Banyu Biru, and coloring. In addition, WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile team also conducted a Ciliwung cleanup action to commemorate World River Day 2019 with HSBC, Master School, and Ciliwung Depok Community.
Talking about water is certainly closely related to the sea and the ecosystems in it. So, in addition to water conservation education, the Panda Mobile team also delivered material about the sea to the community, especially students. During a visit to Domba Kecil Kindergarten, the Panda Mobile team invited students to join a fun turtle cricket game. Meanwhile, the media used to deliver material to larger groups of participants is different. When the Panda Mobile team delivered conservation messages at an art performance event at SMAN 71 Jakarta last September, participants were invited to "dive" into the sea with Virtual Reality (VR). "It's like diving for real, sis!" said Farhan, one of the students from SMAN 71 Jakarta who participated in the activity.
Although education about the importance of the ocean for life is quite intensive, we still find various facts that make us sad. Currently, our seas are polluted due to human activities. One of the pollutants of the sea is garbage that comes from the land, flows into the river and ends up in the sea. So, this is the narrative that Panda Mobile often carries in activities in schools and public areas. Education about waste and biodiversity on land is delivered through storytelling, watching short videos in the Panda Mobile education truck, interactive games, coloring, discussions, and recycling used goods. The Panda Mobile team brought this material on educational visits to KB Avicenna Pamulang, Twinkle Star Kindergarten Cilandak, Taman Kreativitas Anak Indonesia Cipete, Raudhatul Atfal Istiqlal School, SDK Penabuk 11 Jakarta, Gemala Ananda Elementary School, Cinta Kasih Tzu Chi Cengkareng School, Asy-Syafana BSD Kindergarten, Tunas Bangsa Greenville Kindergarten, Bright School South Jakarta Elementary and Junior High School, Kinderfield School Sunter, Playgroup (Kober) and Al-Ikhlas Kindergarten Bogor in late 2019.
During the Panda Mobile activities in late 2019, a number of schools handed over donations that will be allocated to WWF-Indonesia programs such as Turtle Hope, My Baby Tree, WWF Warrior, Nature Guardian, Tiger Papier Mache, and Gurano Bintang. Hopefully, the support from all schools can help Indonesia's nature conservation efforts. By instilling environmental awareness in early childhood, WWF-Indonesia hopes that every student and the general public can grow into individuals who have concern for the environment in the present and the future.