green education for children in the company's operational production area of muktijaya village,...

GREEN EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN

PAUD ALAM AL FIRDAUS, KARAWANG, INDONESIA

Environmentally-based Early-Childhood Education

PT PERTAMINA EP ASSET 3 SUBANG FIELD

PT PERTAMINA EP ASSET 3 SUBANG FIELD 1

PAUD Alam Al Firdaus is an early-childhood education center (school) that focuses on environmental education. In this school, the students are taught to learn more about, to care, and to love the environment in a fun way through exciting activities. The activities in this school have gradually change the mindset of children. At the very least, they are aware to always throw the waste in the waste bin and are able to differentiate organic and inorganic waste. The character building that becomes the main point of this school aims to generate agents of change who care about the environment. PAUD Alam Firdaus is the first school in Karawang that accepts waste as school tuition. Furthermore, it is the first school in Karawang to implement environmentally-based child education curriculum.

Background of the Program According to Indonesian Forum on the Environment (WALHI), the environment

condition in Indonesia is even more alarming. One of the factors causing the

environment destruction in Indonesia is the continuous infrastructure development that ignores environment sustainability. The declining quality of the environment

creates problems such as the emergence of man-made disasters and the declining

quality of public health. In addition, environmental damages also affect the socio-economic life of community groups and affect the cleanliness of the environment.

World Health Organization (WHO) data shows that Indonesia was ranked second after

India in the category of country with the worst sanitation. This is an important concern for Indonesia, therefore the whole society should focus more on the environmental

field.

Abundant daily waste production, absence of garbage processing, and lack of public understanding of the dangers posed by waste may have a major impact on the

environmental damage caused by humans. In Karawang, for example, as stated by the Head of Environment and Cleanliness Office of Karawang Regency, daily waste

volume reaches 900 m3 and the volume is expected to increase by 5% each year as

the population grows. Despite the linear relationship between population number and the amount of waste produced, it can not be simply interpreted that in order to reduce

waste volume, the population growth have to be slowed down. A more effective


solution is needed, and a waste processing system seems to be the perfect solution

to significantly reduce the environmental problems caused by waste.

Figure 1 Piles of Waste on an area of Karawang Regency

To cope with the environmental damage, the participation of all levels of society is needed. Since 2016, the Government of Indonesia has targeted waste-free

Indonesia by 2020. Several government and non-government agencies have begun to

engage in environmentally-concerned activities. However, physical and tangible activities are not enough to raise the spirit of love and respect towards the

environment in one’s heart and mind. In developed countries, efforts to to raise such

spirit are started from early childhood. In Indonesia, such practice has not yet widely implemented. Environmentally-concerned character building from early childhood is

very important in shaping the mindset and attitude of a nation in maintaining

environmental awareness. Therefore, it sounds very reasonable and logical to introduce environmentally-based materials to the children as early as possible. The

material could be about the importance of the environment for the future, the importance of environmental awareness, and the benefits of good environmental


management. If the children understand the importance of maintaining and respecting

the environment, it is expected that they can grow into a generation who are able to maintain the harmony between humans and the surrounding environment.

Pertamina EP Asset 3 Subang Field as one of the oil and gas production

companies that operates in Karawang Regency is obliged to carry out social responsibility to the surrounding environment, including in the field of education.

Based on this, PT Pertamina EP Asset 3 Subang Field together with Assolahiyah Foundation-was one of PT Pertamina EP Subang Field Corporate Social Responsibility

Program that are already Independence-create an environmentally-based early-

childhood education program as a media for children to learn more about their environment. The program also aims to promote environmentally-based

entrepreneurship to the children. Through environmentally-based education for the

community in the company's operational area, it is expected that the surrounding environment becomes clean, healthy, and comfortable so that the company’s

operational activities can run better.

Objectives of the Program The objectives of this "Environmental Character Education” Program are:

• to initiate early-childhood environmental education;

• to introduce the importance of environmental cleanliness;

• to introduce the environment through learning activities;

• to develop children’s caring and character towards the environment; • to introduce environmentally-based business activities;

• to introduce the concept of love and respect towards the environment to the

children; and

• to introduce the utilization of recyclables.

Beneficiaries of the Program Direct beneficiaries of this program are children in their early-childhood

between 3-5 years old, who are students of PAUD Alam Al Firdaus and their guardians

who live in Muktijaya Village, Cilamaya Kulon District, Karawang Regency. These beneficiaries are selected because they are important target for the initiation of


environmental character education. The children in this village have not gained an

understanding of the importance of environmental cleanliness and the economic value of waste. Once the children gain an understanding from an early age, they are

expected to be able to implement the environment-friendly way of life. During the

lesson, students are taught about environmentally-based character building. Curriculum on environmental education becomes part of the teaching materials that

is targeted for the students. Not only the students, their guardian also receive environmental education on how to utilize the recyclables waste, especially plastic

waste. Later on, this skill will enable them to generate additional income. The main

beneficiaries are expected to be able to disseminate their knowledge obtained in PAUD Alam Al Firdaus so they can spread the positive energy of environmental cleanliness

in Muktijaya Village and generally in Cilamaya Kulon District. Indirect beneficiaries of

this program are the teachers, managers, and the surrounding communities who play an active role in maintaining environmental cleanliness around PAUD Alam Al Firdaus.

Initiation and Planning of the Program The preparation of this program was started by making a list of problems and

cases in the company's operational production area of Muktijaya Village, Cilamaya

Kulon District, Karawang Regency, which is within the operational area of PT Pertamina EP Asset 3 Subang Field. The program of PAUD Alam Al Firdaus was carried

on since early 2017 starting with the construction of facilities and infrastructure. This

program is designed for five years. The program's strategic plan consists of five stages that are (1) Initiation Stage; (2) Development Stage; (3) Strengthening Stage; (4)

Stabilization Stage; and (5) Independence Stage. The five stages of the program are

described in the chart below:


Figure 1 Roadmap of the program for a five-year period

Implementation of the Program This program is implemented in PAUD Alam Al Firdaus which is located in

Muktijaya Village, Kecamatan Cilamaya Kulon, Kabupaten Karawang. Good education always starts with competent and skillful teachers. To start with, the teachers’ capacity

on environmental education was built and developed to provide initial understanding on environmental education that had never been applied and taught previously.

Capacity building for teachers is conducted by benchmarking to other nature school,

based on reference from the Ministry of Education, specifically from the Department of Early-Childhood and Community Education, which is located in West Java Province.

Besides improving the capacity of teacher, school managers also collaborate with

relevant government agencies, which is the Environment Office of Karawang Regency to improve teachers’ understanding on environmental issues.

2017INITIATIONInitiation of environmentally-based schoolDevelopment of facilities and infrastructure

2018DEVELOPMENT

Preparation of environmentally-based curriculumInitiation of "School that Accept Waste as Tuition" programSkills to make products out of wastePartnership expansionRoadshow andinnovation sosialisation

2019STRENGHTENING

Waste-based enterpreneurshipRecycled-products marketingProgram replicationSkills addition to make products out of wasteInnovation development

2020STABILIZATIONMarketing expansionImprovement on teacher's capacity

2021INDEPENDENCE

School operational independenceContinuity of environmental educationPAUD Alam becomes the role model in KarawangRegency


Figure 3 The first socialization to the students and their guardian

Teachers and school managers who have gained an understanding of

environmental character education then compiled teaching materials and prepared educational curriculum. Activities starts from small things such as providing waste bins

in school environment. Another basic thing that is taught to students is not to litter

both at school and at home. These activities may seem very basic, but if they are applied properly, the results obtained in the future will have a major impact on nature

and environment sustainability. Their knowledge and understanding on environmental

cleanliness will affect their behavior in their adulthood and hopefully they can disseminate the good habit to a wider society.

The main activity of this program is to build the character that love and respect the environment and to make children realize the economic value of waste. In 2018,

school managers implement the "School that Accept Waste as Tuition" (Sekolah Berbayar Sampah) action. Teaching and learning activities in PAUD Al Firdaus was previously free of charge except for school equipments and study tours. Through


"School that Accept Waste as Tuition" action, students will be able to use their waste

savings to pay for their study tours, buy school equipments, and save in their guardians’ waste savings. This action raises a new understanding among students and

their guardians to appreciate the economic value of waste by not littering and keep

the waste in their savings. A better attitude towards waste is a fundamental character for students and their guardians in this learning activity. In this school, waste is

collected every Friday. All types of waste are acceptable except for sanitary napkins and diapers. Before the waste stores to school, the students and guardians were

previously taught how to sort the waste. By knowing the waste segregation, it is

expected that the students and their guardians can identify various types of waste and can distinguish the waste that has economic value or are recyclable.

PAUD Alam Al Firdaus cooperates with non-government communities (KSM),

which are specialized in the field of waste collection and processing in Karawang regency. The waste collected by students and parents are then transported and

purchased by KSM to be taken to Pulojaya temporary shelter (TPS). In this shelter, recyclable waste will be processed, while non-recyclable waste will be taken to

Jalupang's landfill (TPA). Some of the recyclable waste will be separated by the school

to be used as teaching materials for the students and their guardians. This activity is expected to change the mindset of students and guardians in particular and the village

community in general about the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the

environment. If it is implemented in a long run, this activity will have a major impact in the future.

Other activity offered in the program is Waste Charity (Sodaqoh Sampah). This

activity aims to spread the spirit of caring and sharing with others. The sense of belonging to the environment is the sign of growth and is expected to be a habit that

remains and applied in their daily life. Participants of this activity is not only limited to students, guardians, and school managers. Other residents in the area can also

participate in this activity. There is a charity box placed outside the school in which

anyone can store plastic bottles that will be cashed out and the money generated will be donated for educational activities.


Figure 4 Charity box that is placed outside PAUD Alam Al Firdaus

The program and its activities did not run smoothly at first, as there are some challenges. The main challenge is the difficulties in shaping people’s mindset towards

the environment. They do not aware of the importance of environment cleanliness due to lack of education and lack of understanding on that subject. The fact that

students do not get environmental education in home also becomes a burden in the

character building. In the school area, students do not litter, however when they are home they saw their parents do the opposite so their behavior is affected and the bad

habit returns. This phenomenon happens because the mindset to live in a clean and

healthy manners is not exist in people’s mind. To overcome this problem, continuous literation and education for the students and their guardians has to be maintained.

Realizing the economic value of waste is an interesting thing that can slightly change

the mindset of the students’ guardian who are mostly housewives.

Result of Program Implementation The change of mindset is not an instant process. A continuous and persistent

behaviors need to be maintained in order to shape the mindset on the importance of

environmental cleanliness. The substances and practices given in teaching materials

is also expected to help shaping the love and respect mindset towards environment. The guardians are enrolled in the vocational training in which they learn how to


process the recyclables into products that have economic value, such as making bags

from coffee sachets, making handicraft from old newspapers, etc. Through these skills and knowledge, the guardians are gradually become more considerate to the waste

in their surroundings. The change is noticeable. When they find recyclables on the

street or in other place, they will pick it up and then collect it to be saved at school later.

Figure 5 Product creating activity using old newspaper

Students start to consider waste as something that has economic value. They

start collecting the recyclables when they see scattered waste and then give the recyclables to their parents or store them in the charity box at school. Since January

2018 up to today, the school have collected about 380 kilograms of recyclables that

consist of plastic, cardboard, paper, cans, etc. This awareness, which is the main objectives of this program, is gradually emerging. It is important for the students and

their guardians to have such awareness and environmentally-based mindset as they

will disseminate this to the whole society so they can have a better life gradually. This program has been replicated in Al Bayan School located in Pasirukem Village, Cilamaya

Kulon District, Karawang Regency.


Figure 6 Waste weighing activity conducted by the guardians of the students

Sincere and spontaneous activities of the community show that they

understand the importance of environment sustainability and are able to give

contribution to help the government in coping with the waste issue. They realize that this is only a small step but they are ready to become agents of change in the field of

environment. This optimism also encourage school managers to disseminate such positive activities to other schools in order to generate a more significant results. The

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2017 2018

PAUD Alam Al Firdaus Student's


roadshow activities conducted by PAUD Al Firdaus management aims to transmit

positive energy of environmentally-concerned mindset to other children in neighboring villages. The exciting activities in the school have attracted more students to enroll in

PAUD Alam Al Firdaus. In 2017, there are only 25 students while in 2018 the number

of students are increasing to 50. PAUD Alam Al Firdaus does not work alone in implementing its programs. There

are several related institutions or agencies that help and support the sustainability of the programs. The cooperation and partnership among institutions and agencies is

illustrated in the chart below:

Figure 2: Coperation and partnership chart

According to education authority office in West Java, both the Ministry of

Education and the Ministry of Environment do not have an environmental education

curriculum for early childhood education, currently. Therefore, PAUD Alam Al Firdaus in cooperation with the Environment Department and Education Office of Karawang

Regency prepare an environmental education curriculum for early childhood

education. It can be said that PAUD Alam Al Firdaus is the initiator of environmental

PELITA

PT Pertamina EP Subang

FieldAssolahiyahFoundation

Education Office

Environment Office

TBM Forum

Non-Governmental

Groups

MuktijayaVillage

Cilamaya KulonDistrict


education for early childhood in Karawang Regency even the first in Indonesia. In the

future, this curriculum will be patented as the compulsory curriculum for PAUD schools.

The company's roles in this program are to conduct monitoring, mentoring and

evaluation together with the Assolahiyah Foundation. Government agencies such as local offices and administrations act as advisers and coaches to the ongoing activities.

The offices also participates in conducting joint evaluations with the company to measure the progress and the success rate of this program. Non-government

Communities (KSM) act as partners in waste collection activities also as adviser who

share their knowledge and experience on waste processing.

Evaluation of the Program Program evaluation is conducted in stages starting from mentoring, monitoring,

and evaluation. Mentoring is conducted on a daily basis by the field teams and the foundation. This mentoring aims to identify the problems which occur daily. The list

of problems will later be used as material for monitoring. Monitoring is conducted by the school and all partners every three months. Monitoring activities aim to check the

development and outcomes of the programs. The quarterly monitoring results are then

evaluated once in a year. The evaluation results help to determine the next steps and to identify potential problems that will occur. The whole evaluation process are

undertaken jointly by the respective partner to find most effective and feasible

solutions.


Figure 8 Capacity building activity for teachers

Community satisfaction is inseparable from the success of the program.

Therefore, the company conduct a community satisfaction survey that will be evaluated together at the end of each year. Points of evaluation in the survey are: (1)

participant involvement in planning activities, (2) participant active contribution, (3)

program conformity, (3) knowledge dissemination, (4) commitment of the company, (5) program continuity, (6) participant confidence, etc. Other points to be evaluated

are the conformity of implementation with: (1) initial plan (2) planning indicators, (3)

budget, (4) time frame, and target.

Results and Impact of the Program This program will be sustainable if the beneficiaries both directly or indirectly

engage in activities and disseminate the knowledge gained during the program. The

result started to be noticeable during the second year of this program. The change

can be visible through the behavior of students and their guardians which is going to a better direction and through the active dissemination activities. This program will

develop well with or without company assistance as the people already have the

mindset on the importance of environment. The character of love and respect towards


the environment has emerged and developed, hopefully this positive energy will be

spread to other schools in Cilamaya Kulon District and even in Karawang Regency. “School that Accepts Waste as Tuition” program started at the end of January

2018, however the recyclables collected by PAUD Al Firdaus have reached more than

1 ton in weight. This program has also developed new product creations from old newspaper. The new products is expected to open up new markets in which the

guardians can generate additional income and attract other guardians to involve in the same activities. This condition will create a healthy competition among them to

collect waste, and in the future there will not be any litter in the neighborhood.

Figure 9 Socialization activity of waste savings action in other school

The expansion of these activities can be easily implemented in other areas if the introduction is properly given in the first place. The socialization conducted by

PAUD managers is expected to spread positive energy and spirit to care about the

environment to other school so that new agents of change in the environmental field can be generated.

green education for children in the company's operational production area of muktijaya village,...

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