CELEBRATING WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY WITH PANDA MOBILE
By: Dwina Sagita Nova (Volunteer Panda Mobile)
World Environment Day is celebrated globally every June 5. This year's World Environment Day celebration is themed "Connecting People to Nature". There are many ways to connect people to nature. Apart from the direct experience of enjoying the beauty of nature and seeing various natural resources, the relationship can also be built through introduction and education about nature so that people love nature more.
The Panda Mobile activity opened with a prayer together in the Hall of Hope with the Sunday School teachers. Kak Ryan and Kak Biyong then continued with storytelling about the forest and animal extinction. The participants of Imakulata Children's Faith Formation looked very enthusiastic listening to the story that was told with various animal puppets.
After the storytelling, the participants were divided into three groups to follow each activity. In the water laboratory activity, they were invited to observe various types of water through several ways, namely using a microscope, litmus paper and also a PH meter. From the results of observations using a microscope, they can see the presence of microbes contained in water. While the use of litmus paper and pH meters can show the nature of the water being observed, whether acidic or alkaline. The children were very excited to observe the water because they had never used a microscope before. The volunteers Panda Mobile guided the children patiently so that they could try to use the tools in turn.
At the same time, the BIA children were invited to watch a movie that took place on the Panda Mobile truck. Although the sun was shining overhead and the heat was intense, the children were eager to get on the truck and watch the movies provided by the Panda Mobile team. The short environmental films included "Quartet at The Crossroads", "Guilty Print Device", and "Plastic Planet". The activity, which lasted more than 30 minutes, was very fun and lively. Almost everyone who passed by the church paid attention to the colorful Panda Mobile truck.
At the end of the activity, the Panda Mobile team presented a coloring activity that lasted for 30 minutes. The WWF-Indonesia Panda Mobile team also explained about the six umbrella animals, namely elephants, rhinos, tigers, orangutans, whale sharks, and turtles contained in the coloring paper.
The event was closed with a group photo of Santa Maria Imakulata Church officials, volunteers, and the Panda Mobile truck. The board of Santa Maria Imakulata Church hopes to work with WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile again in the near future with the same issue but with a different theme.