By: Muhammad Azhari Lubis (Panda Mobile Volunteer) & Natalia Trita Agnika (Marketing Content WWF-Indonesia)

Storytelling is a technique of conveying certain messages through the art of storytelling. The storyteller conveys the story with a style, intonation, and tools that capture the interest of the listener. As a Panda Mobile volunteer, every time I follow this educational truck on school visits, I always see Panda Mobile presenting storytelling to children. Usually the storytellers tell stories about animals protected by WWF-Indonesia or about the importance of protecting forests and the environment.

Storytelling is used as a medium to deliver conservation messages to children because they are more able to understand and comprehend a story that is packaged in an interesting and fun way. The atmosphere of playing while learning makes children feel relaxed. Moreover, storytellers usually have attractive storytelling skills. Therefore, Panda Mobile always presents reliable storytellers who have distinctive characteristics, such as Kak Ryan, Kak Ario, Kak Iyan, etc.

Kak Ryan always appears with his favorite guitar. He is always able to "synoptize" children to listen to his stories. When I participated in Panda Mobile's visit to Raushad Fikr Kindergarten, the students who were super active and expressive turned solemn listening to Kak Ryan's story. At that time, he told a story about an orangutan trapped in a carelessly discarded plastic bag. In addition to the guitar, Kak Ryan also used puppets as a medium for storytelling. Thus, the children knew the picture of the orangutan visually.

A sense of empathy then emerged from the students who listened to the story. Their love for the animals that were the main characters of the story grew. After listening to the story, they were moved not to litter. The noble intention was known through the answer to Kak Ryan's question about the students' willingness to throw garbage in the trash can. Through storytelling, the children also got information about WWF-Indonesia's role in conservation. They were introduced to endangered animals, which are the object of WWF-Indonesia's conservation work.

Seeing the enthusiasm and children's response to the storytelling performed during Panda Mobile's visit, storytelling should continue to be done. Enrichment of themes and methods of storytelling should continue to be done because storytelling is one of the media that is quite effective in conveying conservation messages to children.