123 / Catak Gayam, Jombang, East Java
Mrs. Mazidatul has been a teacher of Arabic language and manager of school library at MI Unggulan Assalam for 5 years now. The students are very motivated to read books. But too bad, the school doesn’t have any decent book collections.
Eco-Education Center program and eco activities seems to be a right fit here because the school uses environmental approach for their classes. For example, the teacher will take the students of English to walk through the rice fields to observe the surroundings, they will next do discussion about things that they saw around the rice fields, and find the words in english. Also in another class they will go out to observe celestial mechanics, etc. The school really encourage the students to interact with nature.
The school is located in a lowland village. The people are working as farmers, wooden crafters, and on plantation. The local people still have very low awareness and education about environment. People still throw their waste in the river or burn it.
Through the eco-education program, Mrs. Mazidatul wants to learn more about waste management and composting. She wants to create and support activities to reduce and manage waste in the village with the students.