Eco Fun Game Innovation for Children to Increase Their Awareness on Environmental Conservation
Conservation Education (CE) helps people of all ages understand and appreciate our country's natural resources and learn how to conserve those resources for future generations. Through structured educational experiences and activities targeted to varying age groups and populations, conservation education enables people to realize how natural resources and ecosystems affect each other and how resources can be used wisely. Early conservation education planned by Bogor Agricultural University is a great way to overcome the problems of our nature sustainability. As community awareness and environmental issues increases, so does the value of environmental for children. Early conservation education is important in order for children to embrace a positive attitude and sense of responsibility towards the conservation of nature until adulthood and realize an active role of conservation.
Lecturer of the Faculty of Forestry of Bogor Agricultural University (FAHUTAN IPB), Dr. Siti Badriah, has made several innovations in teaching methods for Early Conservation Education. Lecturer in the Department of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecotourism (Dept. KSHE) was successfully created methods of teaching Early Conservation Education based on Joyful Learning.
Some conservation education tools available in Indonesia are, CD-ROMs, Eco Fun Game, Poster, children's story book, simple paper recycling tool up to the environment lesson module.
Initially only CD-ROMs containing the materials about conservation is available. This CD-ROM aims to introduce the concepts and principles of Conservation Agriculture (CA) and supporting materials (publications, figures, pictures and presentations) as well as useful contacts (websites and e-mails) for further information. Such CD-ROM is intended for urban children who were already familiar with computer technology. While they have been playing the computer game, they can find here information on how to implement conservation programs, "said Dr. Badriah
Adjustment of computer-based teaching is intended for urban children who are not too familiar with nature. Hands-on conservation activities encourage them to become active participants in learning about the nature around them. The materials contained is not intended to serve only as a starting point for good practices for children, but also for adults can also participate in conservation learning.
The next innovation she created is Eco Fun Game. It is a snake ladder game by using pawns and dice that are shuffled to run the game. The rules applicable for the Eco Fun Game is similar to those for ladder snakes game, but the difference is its animation contains in it.
Animations are also associated with conservation education. For example if the pawn stops in the tree fire image, then the pawn will descend along the snake in the image.
"The images I made for this game are also related to conservation. If the pawn stops in the image of degraded conservation or deforestation and forest fires, then the pawn will go down along the snake that was there, "said the lecturer who pursued her both undergraduate and graduate studies program in IPB.
Dr. Badriah's innovations has been exhibited in several exhibitions. Not only for the exhibition, but this innovation has also been distributed to schools around the campus and those located close to the conservation area. She expected that the fun game as method of teaching she designed will assist children to become environmentally responsible. (Wied)
