Biodiversity Fun Class

Cultivating a sustainable lifestyle and love for nature at a young age goes a long way to protecting our planet’s biodiversity and our future—and who says it can’t be fun too? That’s why MSIG Indonesia specially designed and implemented a programme called Biodiversity Fun Class for elementary students, starting with selected schools in Jakarta, Bogor and Tangerang.

MSIG partnered with National Movement for Foster Parents (GNOTA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping local children receive education, to identify schools that would benefit most from the classes. To kickstart the initiative, a team of MSIG staff volunteers underwent training in an eco-workshop to better prepare for their roles as facilitators to conduct the Biodiversity Fun Class. They also learnt from GNOTA what were the best ways to communicate with students from diverse backgrounds.

At the Biodiversity Fun Class, students learned invaluable lessons about sustainability and conservation. They were taught about the impact of deforestation in Indonesia through a case study on the Paliyan Wildlife Sanctuary, the importance of protecting biodiversity and the need to reduce waste in their daily lives.

The classes incorporated activities that were not only educational but fun and meaningful for the students as well. An animated movie on biodiversity was screened to help students learn more about their natural environment and quizzes were held to encourage participation and enhance understanding.

The students also had the opportunity to do their part for and give back to nature through plant potting activities. Sansevierias were planted for their resilience and air purifying properties, and the students were given the freedom to express their creativity by decorating plastic bottles which were repurposed into pots for the plants.

Through environmental education and our Biodiversity Fun Class, we hope to equip the younger generation with the knowledge to protect the environment, as well as to empower them to build a sustainable future for generations to come.

Key achievements to date:

• 36 MSIG staff volunteers trained in environmental education 
• 137 students educated on biodiversity protection
• 137 sansevierias planted across schools in Jakarta, Bogor and Tangerang