Millennium Kids Environmental Conference 2003
By Princess of Environment 2003 Nastiti Puspitosari
We were in Western Australia Millennium Kids Environmental Conference 2003 (28-31 October) and some environmental activities (1-11 November) as part of Cross Cultural Environmental Education Exchange Australia Indonesia.
We departed from Perth to Fairbridge at 8:00am of Tuesday October 28, 2003. We were divided of 8 tribes, such as: air, water, waste, peace, care, trees and land, energy, and native animals. Also we are divided of the houses or dormitories, the girls stayed at Scratton, and the boys are stayed at Cook and “Kitchener”.
At 10:30am, we arrived at Fair Bridge and we had to wear the Millennium Kids uniform like hat and t-shirt. And also we got a schedule of our daily activities at Fair Bridge. We went to the hall that called “Millennium Kids Zone”. There, we had a presentation about “what is Millennium Kids” and some speech from the Alcoa World Alumina Australia. Millennium Kids also had a pedometer the tools to count how much are our steps.
Millennium Kids got it from the department of transportation of Australia, so we can looked after our steps at Millennium Kids conference. We had a lot of new friends from Australia that helped us to learn much more about Australia and gave much experience. We also had good leader e.g. Catrina and Martin who lead MK conference. They were very nice and friendly shared with us. Our new friends were very nice too. We love them. And it’s also exciting.
But we also looked after the environment condition around Australia, especially in Perth and Fairbridge. There, the weather was more cold and dry than Surabaya. At Perth especially, it has low stage of pollution as well as air pollution, water pollution, also noise and soil pollution. So, it was wonderful and clean city. First, when we arrived from the airport, it looks very different between Indonesia and Australia. Let’s see! The rubbish already separated and the society looks so aware about the environment wherever they are. And they also obeyed the rule about everything.
And now, we would like to explain the workshop that we had done at the Millennium Kids conference.
1. Millennium Kids Green Steps, this workshop had done around the Fairbridge and we had looked for an environmental problem where we are. We got a piece of paper that spelled out with how is the condition of the environment where we are, what are the things that the people have done to solve the problem, and we had to looked for the simple way to solve that problem and the society can also involve us to help.
2. Friendship quilt, in this project we made a handkerchief that we had drew it with an environmental theme and made a banner about our tribe by a picture and that banner also for the symbol of our tribe.
3. Travel Smart, this project created by Millennium Kids and Department of Infrastructure since last year. This project is about how we try to reduce the air pollution stage that caused by the vehicle. So, they try to educate the school children about the bad effect of green house gas by travel to school just on foot and ride the bicycle.
4. A look at 2003, he project has done from the forest that we can learn a lot of plants and how to save our forest that shouldn’t be cut down. MK brought us to the Alcoa’s mining sites to look their rehabilitation programs. In the forest, we assessed the quality of the environment at the several distinct, analyze the present and create our dream for the future. Also we learned about many kinds of plants or native plants by the counselor from Greening Australia. While we back to the Fairbridge, we drew the way back to the Dwelling Up until Pinjarra on the left hand side also the right hand side.
5. Public speaking, in this project we learned how to speak and explain every thing we want to clearly and simple. We did some interview too. We had to work in pair, one of us being the interviewer and being interviewed. We talk about everything we like and then, after this we had to explain what we were talking about in front of the other friends. Also we lined up became 2 sides and the other friends gave the questions to us about Millennium Kids and we had to explain and answer the question clearly.
6. Leadership, in this workshop we did the line-up and learn about how to be a good leader. The good leader always gives the choice and democrat ion to the society. So, we had to work together and democrat ion with each other.
7. Media releases, in this workshop we learned about how to make good news that will be an interesting reading.
8. Workshop challenge, in this workshop we look for an environmental problem around us. But, not only look for a problem we also had to look for the solving of that problem.
9. Wetlands workshop, in this workshop we visit Cullinup Reserve and Wilgee Creek and have a look at how a wetland can be rehabilitated when many stakeholders get together to solve the problem.
10. Estuary workshop, in this workshop we had an opportunity to ask the old people about the environment in that place when they were young.
11. To the sea workshop, we went to the sea and bring a banner for each tribe also we had to said the promised about our tribes and what will we do for the future generation to help the environment.
In the conference, we have many new knowledge and we get many new friends too, also many experience. We know the different between Perth and Surabaya, and I’m sure that Perth better than Surabaya. So, perhaps we can implement it in our city, even our country.
We were staying in Broadwater, we already visited such school at Australia especially Perth for create a link to share our dream to make a beautiful Environment come true.
Around 8.00am Catrina already picked us up. Then we went to the South Perth Primary School by Travel Smart. It means that we were Travel Smart, so we didn’t use any vehicle but we just walking and walking. Along the trip Catrina told us a lot of the things about Australia. She told us that the water in Australia are the save water, it means that we can drink it. But Catrina told us that many peoples in Australia use much water for gardening even the government already give the warning for the society for use the water if it is very important because the water source just one and its mot too much.
We arrived in the South Perth Primary School and met our Millennium Kids conference friends. They are Mary, Isabella, Christian and John Henry. There we sang a song that we made in Surabaya Dreaming called “Mentari” in front of the classroom. We also went to the frog pond and the nurse garden. There, we pull the Algae up from the frog pond and weeding in the garden.
On Tuesday we went to the embassy of Indonesia and met with the Ambassador and gave our quilt that made in the Millennium Kids Conference. I also gave my drawing to the embassy of Indonesia. The art is about the Indonesian cultural and about environment in Australia. We shared about environment between Indonesia and Australia and the Ambassador gave some speech also advices to us.
After we went to the embassy of Indonesia, we continued the trip to the Penrhos College. First, we went to the principal’s room and gave my art to her. Directly we went to the classroom and we were surprised because the students were welcomed us. We also met with some of my Millennium Kids Conference like: Emma, Genevive, Fransisca, Emily, etc. When we arrived the class was in the computer lesson. Wow! Every student brought their own notebook and they wrote down all of the lessons on his/her own notebook. They also sang a song called “Gelang” for us and we sang “Mentari” for them.
Kayaking. That’s the word that looked very challenging. We went kayaking with Catrina, Hal, and his friend Rob to the Seal Island and Penguin Island. In the journey we felt very tired but it was very exciting. Along the journey, we met many seals and penguins also dolphins. In the penguin island, we went to the beach and went around the Penguin Island. We also watched the penguin show. We went back to the place before and gave Rob a Travel Smart bag and Hal a Millennium Kids T-shirt and we went back to the BroadWater.
I forgot when it’s happen but I want to tell you about it. I went to the recording studio in the Subiaco with Martin and Dominggo. There, we also met with Catrina and Catrina went to recording too. I felt a little bit nervous because I never record my voice alone. Martin made a video about Surabaya Dreaming that we had done in Surabaya in July. It is a workshop about environment. It’s like this Millennium Kids conference. But we weren’t only learning about environment we also learn about art, journalistic and so on.
At Thursday, we went to the Edith Cowan University in Bunbury for the Travel Smart conference. The conference started at 9.00am until 2.00pm. The conference was shared about what is travel Smart and how it works. Martin and we made a song for that conference about Travel Smart and we also listened the story about how to save the world from damage from Monica our friend. In this Travel Smart conference, Dominggo did a single presentation about his environmental project on Air Pollution.
After a while and we went back to Perth and then we went to the Catrina’s house to have a barbeque party and that’s the farewell party for us. Megan, Martin, Charlie also joined that party.
Don’t Harm the Earth!!