A Little Child Shall Lead Them, To The Recycling Bin
It's hard to ignore the pollution that's become such an integral part of the Balinese landscape. Throwing garbage into drains and ravines and burning plastic and rice straw are habits that are hard to alter. Changing entrenched behaviour anywhere is a painfully slow process. The most promising route to cleaning up Bali is through it's children; if the kids learn sound environmental practices at school, they will take them home to their families and communities and eventually these habits will change.
Half a kilometre from downtown Ubud is a unique little school whose pupils are becoming familiar with many aspects of environmental management. The national curriculum at SD Suta Dharma School has been enhanced with Montessori techniques and other creative teaching methods that involve the children with innovative, hands-on projects. The three-year environmental curriculum, which was developed and is being tested by IDEP, involves not just the children but also their families in activities that teach environmental sustainability.
Each module of the Learnscape curriculum incorporates physical and practical activities, written and oral communication, mathematics, science and technology, music, arts and crafts, studies of society and culture and aspects of design, geography, economics and ecology. But it's all so much fun that it doesn't feel like school at all. The students, including 4 in wheelchairs, move between classes with huge energy and enthusiasm.
This is one of the sites of a pilot project to test 'Learnscapes', an internationally recognized system of integrating environmental education into local schools. Starting in Grade Four, the children at Suta Dharma begin to explore their relationship with nature and environmental issues at their school and in their community through carefully designed modules. They investigate waste, sources of air and water pollution, greenhouse effect and the role of trees and plants. Then they move on to an understanding of biodiversity, ecosystems and habitats. They learn to test soil for fertility, make compost, garden, and recognize and prevent soil erosion. And that's just the second semester.
Outside each classroom are receptacles for waste paper, food scraps, plastic and glass; waste stream management and recycling comes as naturally to these kids as breathing. The students are discouraged from bringing snacks wrapped in plastic to school, which has reduced non-recyclable garbage significantly. They create action-packed plays that explain all these concepts to the other pupils in the school, and make field visits to rural schools. On one occasion the lecturer on waste stream management, a tiny boy of six, had to stand on a chair in order to be heard by his audience of 100 adults and children. Imagine that.
The children organize clean-up programs to collect garbage from around their school and the village of Kutuh. They now notice how garbage piles up in gutters and streams, and what a mess it makes when it rains. The perimeter of the school is immaculate.
The 15 teachers at Suta Dharma try to link each lesson to the environment in some way. Thriving populations of ducks, birds, chickens, rabbits and other creatures are teaching aids for animal husbandry, reproduction, aging and genetics. The children build organic gardens and grow food for the school's canteen, learning about the nutritive value of different plants as they do so. There are gardens in every corner of the grounds - in old tires, in ponds, even on the flat roof. A vertical garden planted in split bamboo demonstrates that it's possible to grow food in very little space.
Arithmetic lessons may include tasks such as counting and measuring plants and managing the proceeds earned from the sale of ducks, eggs and other produce. "We try to teach a lot of useful things to the children," explains Environmental and Landscape Coordinator Ibu Rosmara Dewi. "If students are unable to continue their studies for some reason, then at least they have some practical skills in food production, animal management and marketing."
A well-established worm-breeding project has becoming a thriving little business. Fed on scraps from the school canteen, the worms produce castings which are sold as fertilizer. The project has produced over 15 kg of earthworms that sell for a hefty Rp 200,000 a kg. This income is used to start new projects, which the children design, budget and manage themselves with some assistance from their teachers.
Suta Dharma's medicinal plant garden grows over 75 types of healing plants, some of which are now rare. The children learn their uses from their grandparents, thus keeping alive traditional healing techniques that would otherwise be lost. Seedlings from the 'apotik hidup' (living pharmacy) will soon be sold to the public. A ceremonial garden grows plants and flowers for the many Balinese offerings.
The school canteen provides a healthy snacks and organic lunches for the children every day, and sells fruit and rice cakes between classes. The campus is dotted with little basins where the students are encouraged to brush and floss their teeth after meals.
An important indicator of Learnscapes' success is the students' ability to clearly transfer knowledge to other students. Suta Dharma hosts workshops for other schools. The students come to view the many demonstration projects, which are followed by presentations by the young project coordinators. Ibu Ros is keen to start working with the teachers and students of the local public school.
Suta Dharma, which opened in 1997, has an enrollment of 170 students ranging from kindergarten to age 12. About half the students are Balinese, with the other half evenly divided between Indonesians from other islands and Western children from six countries.
How much of a difference can one little school make? The Indonesian children report resistance from their parents when they try to introduce waste separation and recycling at home. But when recycling was introduced to my community in Canada 15 years ago, it was met with apathy and resistance. Change is a slow process. Only when the children began to learn about it in school and bring the expectations home did parents begin to take it seriously. It's taken a full generation for my community to embrace the concept of environmental responsibility. Hopefully Bali's children will lead their families to the recycling bin more quickly.
The average income of a Balinese villager is just $40 a month, putting quality education beyond the reach of most families. Suta Dharma School offers a sponsorship program which allows village children from carefully selected families to attend.
The school's financial resources are constantly challenged due to the economic crisis and political change in Indonesia, making it increasingly difficult to provide a rich education for its students. Donations of cash, children's books in Indonesia and English, laboratory equipment or other educational materials would be much appreciated. Please contact Ibu Dayu or Ibu Ros at sutadmin@indo.net.id
