Two vehicles stopped right at the gate of WWF's restoration hut in Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN). About 30 elementary school students wearing sports uniforms descended from the vehicles. They come from two villages directly adjacent to TNTN, namely Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village and Bagan Limau Village. They came to listen to fairy tales and watch a theater performance about nature from WWF Central Sumatra volunteers.

The activity titled "Tesso Nilo Fairy Tale Performance" is a series of environmental education activities organized by storytelling and theater performances. This performance was held to coincide with International Forest Day and International Fairy Tale Day which fell on March 20 and 21, 2019, respectively. In addition to learning about animals and their habitats, participating students can improve their speaking and listening skills through this activity.

On the first day, children were introduced to the forest ecosystem through a short story about elephants and King Ficus the Tree. Sumatran elephants have an important role in maintaining the balance of the forest, as well as the Banyan tree (Ficus benjamina) which is a source of food for mammals and several types of birds. The children enthusiastically listened to the stories told by the storyteller while playing the puppets. The atmosphere was even more favorable because the activity was carried out in an elephant habitat.

After being presented with animal stories, the children were invited to be creative with plastic bottle waste. While decorating plastic bottles that each participant brought from home, they received an explanation about plastic waste pollution by Kak Ani from WWF. The issue of plastic is a trending topic in the world today so it is important to educate students in minimizing the use of plastic and implementing an environmentally friendly lifestyle. That afternoon, plastic waste that is difficult to decompose was turned into various cute piggy banks, the result of the creativity of the participants.

On the second day, the children were presented with a theater performance about tigers and hornbills, two endemic animals of Sumatra. Both are now threatened to become mere characters in a theater performance. The children seemed very entertained by the performance of the volunteers in the story of "The Tiger and the Hornbill". Apparently, it was their first time watching theater art.

The second day was also filled with tree planting and the pledge of the forest guardian. Each school representative planted a tree in the area behind the restoration hut. Previously, they were equipped with knowledge about the trees they were planting and how to plant them. Bagan Limau primary school children planted Kandis trees, while Lubuk Kembang Bunga village primary school children planted Cempedak Hutan trees.

The tree planting procession ended with the reading of the forest captain's pledge. The pledge is a promise to nature to always protect the environment and love animals. The procession went smoothly, beginning with the singing of Indonesia Raya and Indonesia Pusaka.

The "Tesso Nilo Fairy Tale Performance" activity was designed in such a way that children could easily absorb the message about the importance of protecting the environment and loving animals. In addition, this activity is also expected to strengthen the bond between children and the surrounding nature. Toyota Motor Corporation supports this restoration activity as part of its "Living Asian Forest Project" program, which aims to increase public awareness of the environment.