By: Syamsidar
A total of 18 high school students from three districts and Pekanbaru City participated in the Holiday and Learning with Nature Program in Tesso Nilo National Park on June 24-26, 2010. Participants were students selected from papers that had been sent to the committee as a requirement for the activity.

This activity was organized by WWF-Indonesia Riau Program together with the Tesso Nilo National Park Office in order to introduce the potential of biodiversity and ecotourism in the national park. This activity was opened directly by the Head of Tesso Nilo National Park, Drh. Hayani Suprahman, MSc at Tesso Nilo National Park, Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency-Riau.

The Head of the TNTN Center said in the opening of the activity:" The temperature of the earth is getting hotter, therefore it needs the concern of all parties to do more real in loving and protecting nature, including the participation of students as the next generation." He added, "The selected students in this activity are lucky students because they can enjoy the natural beauty of TNTN and learn directly with nature." With this experience, Hayani hopes that awareness to love the environment will grow."
The eighteen selected participants came from Pelalawan, Indragiri Hulu, Kampar and Pekanbaru Municipalities. These participants participated in various activities in the Vacation and Learning with Nature Program in TNTN, including: getting to know the characteristics of Sumatran elephants, Sumatran tiger research using the camera trap method, rare plant species and sialang honey. Participants were also introduced to herbarium making and bokasih or fertilizer from elephant dung which is widely found in Tesso Nilo National Park.
Tesso Nilo National Park is famous for the highest biodiversity in the world and is also the habitat of endangered Sumatran elephants and tigers. This area is a fairly good elephant habitat compared to other remaining elephant habitats in Riau. "The designation of part of the Tesso Nilo forest as a national park is expected to one day be a solution to the problem of human-elephant conflict in Riau," explained the head of the TNTN Center on the sidelines of the opening of the Vacation and Learning with Nature in TNTN.
Nadia Corrina Raissa from SMA I Bangkinang-Kampar stated that she was very happy to participate in this activity because of the many experiences gained, including getting to know rare plant species that are found in TNTN. She said, "She hopes that there is a need for facilities to support ecotourism to make it more attractive to visitors, for example building flying foxes in areas that are not wildlife crossings." With the availability of various facilities, he believes it will attract more people to come to Tesso Nilo National Park.

Participants can get to know Sumatran elephants through direct interaction with training elephants from the Flying Squad Team (Wild Elephant Repellent Team). And what is even more interesting is that participants can try directly to become an elephant handler in an activity called "If I Become a Handler." After Syamsuardi, WWF's Flying Squad Officer explained how to give instructions to the elephants, participants could try interacting with the elephants themselves. Nella, a calf from one of the Flying Squad elephants who is now 3.5 years old also participated in this activity. Initially, participants had difficulty as the elephant did not follow their instructions but after a few more attempts, they were able to command Nella to lift her right front leg and the participants were able to mount Nella.

"How exciting, who would have thought my small body could command such a big elephant," said Dwi Monica, a participant from SMA 12 Pekanbaru. She said that this would be an unforgettable experience for her and promised to tell her friends about her time in Tesso Nilo National Park. The activity was also intended to introduce tigers to the public.
This activity is also intended to introduce the potential of ecotourism in TNTN, which is currently being developed by the Tesso Nilo National Park and WWF-Indonesia Riau Program. It is expected that ecotourism activities in TNTN will be able to develop well so that it can drive alternative income for the community around TNTN. For this reason, the cooperation of all parties is needed to develop the ecotourism potential of Tesso Nilo National Park so that someday this area will be able to become one of the favorite tourist visit areas in Riau.