As well as holding regular conservation camps every month, the IAR team in Ketapang, West Borneo also holds camps just for scouts - both boys and girls. These are held in collaboration with the Boy Scout Programme in Ketapang Region. They are held every other month and will continue until the end of the year. The aim of these camps is to test the scouts’ environmental knowledge and skill sets and their theme is ‘Transforming Active Youth in Conservation and Testing Scouts’ Special Skills’. “We have a wide range of environmental education materials that are delivered to the Scouts during this three day event, with, of course, orangutans as our wildlife ambassador,” said Riyan, Education Supervisor for IAR Indonesia.
The camp opens with a Scout ceremony and then the boys and girls watch a mixture of welfare, conservation and environmental films, after which a discussion is held and the scouts are encouraged to express their opinions. The following day, the scouts take to the forest for a day of trekking and learning. Three topics are delivered during the trekking days: conservationist ecosystems and genetic resources materials; environmentally friendly behaviour and environmental services and the conservation of orangutans. To make the learning more interesting and engaging, the information is delivered in fun ways such as games and quizzes. In the evening, back at the forest camp, a poster competition is held. The scouts split into two groups to draw their poster. This competition can be an indicator as to how much they have learnt and how well they are able to express it. They also have to present and explain their poster to everyone else.
“This is a rare opportunity for us, so we must use it to learn as much as possible!” said Mr Luthfi, the Head of the Boy Scout programme in Ketapang.
On the last day, the scouts are tested by IAR Indonesia’s Education Team to determine what and how much information they have learned, understood and retained. If they past the test they are awarded their Boy Scout Conservation badge. They are also awarded an IAR specific scout badge ‘TISKA’ that all scout participants receive for joining our Boy Scout camps.
IAR’s conservation camp activities are a great way to reach out to the youth of today in Ketapang. We support and further their aims to be better scouts by encouraging their active participation in protecting their environment, the forest and the animals that live there.