Students plant trees, clean up school

Students of Al Hidayah elementary school in Cibinong learn about the environment during every school break, by cleaning up their school yard.

They also join seminars with speakers from Bogor regency environmental offices, Al Hidayah principal Unang Wahidin said.

"In the seminars we usually screen movies about the environment, to make the subject more interesting for children. We also encourage the active participation of students in planting trees around the school, and to clean the school compound during break times," Unang said Saturday on the sidelines of an environment seminar.

Unang said students had taken up the habit of cleaning the school, without having to be told to do so.

"Some pick up trash from the school yard, while others push garbage carts around collecting garbage from the bins in classrooms," he said.

Second-grader Laili Sekar Handayani said she loved learning about the environment. Laili particularly liked planting trees and learning about their names.

"I love planting trees because they give us many benefits like making the air fresh. My favorite tree is the jambu air, because its fruit is tasty. My dad also planted a jambu air tree at home," Laili said.

Another student, sixth grader Hadi Zam Zam Nur, said besides planting trees they were also taught not to litter.

"The teacher always reminds us not to litter at home or when we're on public transportation... on the streets too - because we have to consider the sweepers. We also cannot litter in the river because the river can get dirty and damaged," he said.

The head of forestry at Bogor Agricultural Agency, Zahara Hanum, said environmental education had to be cultivated among the community from an early age.

"So they know how important the forests, clean water and air are for humans. They also have to know we need to keep the environment clean," she said.

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