Program Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan 2011
March 31, 2011
“Tak Terasa Telah Bergulir Selama 6 Tahun”
Yayasan Orangutan Sumatera Lestari – Orangutan Information Centre (YOSL – OIC) yang bekerja sama dengan Orangutan Republik Foundation (OURF) sebagai lembaga yang aktif dalam upaya konservasi Orangutan Sumatera dan habitatnya telah melaksanakan Program Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan selama 6 tahun terakhir sejak tahun 2006. Saat ini penerima beasiswa dari program tersebut berjumlah 33 orang yang tersebar di beberapa kampus seperti : Kehutanan USU, Biologi USU, Biologi non-pendidikan UNIMED, Biologi UMA, dan Fakultas Kedokteran Hewan Unsyiah. Dari 33 orang penerima beasiswa tersebut, delapan diantaranya telah meraih gelar sarjana.
Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan adalah suatu program beasiswa yang merupakan kerjasama antara Yayasan Orangutan 
Sumatera Lestari – Orangutan Information Centre (YOSL – OIC) dengan Orangutan Republik Foundation (OURF) untuk memberikan beasiswa kepada mahasiswa/i yang memiliki komitmen dan kepedulian terhadap upaya-upaya konservasi alam dan pelestarian lingkungan khususnya perlindungan dan penyelamatan Orangutan Sumatera dan habitatnya. Pelaksanaan program beasiswa ini bekerjasama dengan institusi pendidikan dalam hal ini universitas-universitas yang berada di Provinsi Sumatera Utara dan Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
Tujuan dari diselenggarakannya program beasiswa ini adalah untuk memberikan dukungan moril dan materil kepada mahasiswa/i dalam menyelesaikan pendidikannya di universitas. Serta untuk melahirkan generasi-generasi intelektual yang memiliki komitmen dan kepedulian terhadap upaya-upaya perlindungan dan penyelamatan Orangutan Sumatera dan habitatnya.
Pada tahun ini, kegiatan seleksi Program Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan telah dilaksanakan di dua tempat berbeda. Seleksi beasiswa untuk wilayah Aceh telah dilaksanakan pada tanggal 25 Februari 2011 di Kampus Fakultas Kedokteran Hewan Unsyiah. Sedangkan untuk wilayah Sumatera Utara telah dilaksanakan di Kampus Biologi UNIMED pada tanggal 3 Maret 2011
Tim Juri yang terlibat dalam kegiatan ini adalah dosen-dosen dari kampus Biologi UNIMED, Biologi USU, Kehutanan USU, dan staf BBKSDA Sumut untuk wilayah Medan, sedangkan untuk wilayah Aceh tim juri yang terlibat adalah dosen Fakultas Kedokteran Hewan Unsyiah, staf BBKSDA Aceh, dan Direktur YOSL-OIC.
Untuk tahun ini peserta yang mengikuti program beasiswa ini mengalami peningkatan yang signifikan dibandingkan tahun sebelumnya. Jumlah peserta yang mendaftar dalam program beasiswa ini untuk wilayah Medan mengalami peningkatan sebesar 50% dari tahun sebelumnya yaitu sebanyak 21 orang yang terdiri dari 12 mahasiswa Biologi UNIMED, 5 mahasiswa Biologi USU, dan 4 mahasiswa Kehutanan USU. Sedangkan jumlah peserta yang mendaftar dalam program beasiswa ini untuk wilayah Aceh mengalami peningkatan sekitar 10-15 % dibandingkan tahun sebelumnya yaitu sebanyak 14 orang.
Rabu (16/3/11), telah dilakukan penandatanganan kontrak beasiswa yang dihadiri langsung oleh Chairman of OURF, Mr Gary Saphiro, selaku pihak yang menjadi donor dalam Program Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan. Dalam acara ceremony tersebut turut diundang seluruh penerima beasiswa tahun 2011 beserta dosen pendamping, tim juri yang terlibat, Kepala BBKSDA Provinsi Sumatera Utara, Kepala BBTNGL, dan rekan-rekan dari CPOI.
Para penerima Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan 2011, yaitu :
- Untuk wilayah Aceh (Fakultas Kedokteran Hewan UNSYIAH)
- Joharsyah Hutabarat
- Raja Marthunus Selian
- Meuthya SR
- Dina Agustina
- Aulia Fakhrurrozi
- Untuk wilayah Sumatera Utara :
- Muhammad Gojali Harahap (Kehutanan USU)
- Henny L Tobing (Biologi UNIMED)
- Hethy Novita Tamba (Biologi UNIMED)
- Arfah Nasution (Biologi USU)
- Juhardi Sembiring (Biologi USU)
Workshop dan Sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge
March 20, 2009
British Council bersama dengan Ashoka, Pandu Pertiwi, dan National Geographic serta Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) melaksanakan sebuah program yang disebut dengan “School Climate Challenge” yaitu sebuah program yang memberikan kesempatan bagi anak muda untuk mengubah tantangan perubahan iklim menjadi peluang ekonomi bagi komunitasnya.
Program School Climate Challenge merupakan kompetisi yang bertujuan mendorong para guru dan siswa sekolah menengah di seluruh Indonesia untuk menggagas suatu project yang inovatif, kreatif, dan berkesinambungan, terutama berkontribusi terhadap solusi perubahan iklim dan memiliki manfaat ekonomi baik bagi sekolah maupun komunitas.
Kegiatan workshop dan sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge ini telah dilaksanakan pada :
Hari/Tanggal : Rabu/18 Februari 2009
Waktu : Pukul 09.00 WIB – 16.00 WIB
Tempat : Aula T. Amir Hamzah
Kantor Dinas Pendidikan Propinsi Sumatera Utara
Jl. T. Cik Dik Tiro No. 1D Medan
Pihak yang terlibat dalam pelaksanaan workshop dan sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge ini, yaitu :
- OIC (Orangutan Information Centre)
- FK3LI (Forum Komunikasi Kader Konservasi Lingkungan Indonesia)
- Dinas Pendidikan Propinsi Sumatera Utara
Bentuk kegiatan yang dilakukan selama kegiatan workshop dan sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge ini, yaitu :
- Penyampaian materi tentang “Memahami Potensi Dunia Pendidikan dan Lingkungan Sekolah dalam Menghadapi Dampak Pemanasan Global dan Perubahan Iklim”
- Diskusi interaktif seputar materi yang disampaikan dan penyampaian program pendidikan lingkungan yang telah dilakukan di sekolah
- Sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge
- Panduan pengisian formulir dan pembuatan proposal project Program School Climate Challenge
Kegiatan workshop dan sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge ini dibuka oleh Staf Dinas Pendidikan Propinsi Sumatera Utara dengan menyampaikan pidato sambutan Kepala Dinas Propinsi Sumatera Utara. Dimana dalam pidato sambutan tersebut Kepala Dinas Pendidikan Propinsi Sumatera Utara menyampaikan harapan agar melalui kegiatan ini dapat mendorong guru dan siswa untuk peduli dan melestarikan lingkungan melalui lingkup yang terdekat yaitu lingkungan sekolah masing-masing.
Kegiatan workshop dan sosialisasi Program School Climate Challenge ini diikuti oleh perwakilan guru dan siswa yang berasal dari Kota Medan, Kabupaten Deli Serdang, dan Kabupaten Langkat. Peserta yang hadir dalam kegiatan tersebut sebanyak 35 sekolah dengan jumlah total peserta 117 orang.
Beasiswa Peduli Orangutan 2009
February 23, 2009
OIC didukung oleh Orangutan Republik Education Initiative (OUREI) kembali menggelar beasiswa Peduli Orangutan 2009. Pada tahun keempat, beasiswa ini diberikan tak hanya kepada mahasiswa jurusan kehutanan dan biologi USU dan UNIMED, namun meluas kepada mahasiswa kedokteran hewan UNSYIAH, NAD. Hal ini memberikan kesempatan luas bagi mahasiswa NAD turut peduli dalam kelestarian orangutan sumatera yang juga terdapat di propinsi ini lewat dunia pendidikan.
Sosialisasi beasiswa telah dilaksanakan pada bulan Februari 2009 di tiga universitas tersebut. Mahasiswa yang berkeinginan memperoleh beasiswa ini harus membuat dan mempresentasikan essay yang mendukung pelestarian orangutan sumatera baik berupa upaya yang akan dilakukan calon penerima beasiswa dalam penelitiannya. Selain itu, calon penerima beasiswa memiliki komitmen dan kepedulian serta berperan aktif dalam upaya konservasi.
Berdasarkan presentasi essay dan komitmennya, penerima beasiswa dari USU atau UNIMED berhak mendapatkan bantuan selama pendidikan sebesar Rp. 7.300.000 dan bagi mahasiswa UNSYIAH memperoleh Rp. 9.000.000 termasuk biaya penelitian yang berhubungan dengan orangutan sumatera. Turut hadir Founding Director OIC, Panut Hadisiswoyo, menggugah semangat mahasiswa untuk turut andil dalam beasiswa yang masih jarang diminati mahasiswa di Sumatera ini. “Walaupun penelitian tidak mengurangi penurunan populasi orangutan sumatera, tapi secara tidak langsung mendukung pelestarian orangutan sumatera dan konservasi lingkungan”, kata Founding Director OIC saat sosialisasi beasiswa di jurusan kehutanan USU.
Tunggu pengumuman penerima beasiswa peduli orangutan 2009 di bulan Maret 2009…
Conservation Camps
May 25, 2008
The site of a camp session held in April 2008
The SOS-OIC have developed the ‘Conservation Camp’ programme as an enjoyable and effective way for young Indonesians to learn about the environment and orangutan conservation. Representing key members of future societies, the participation of young people is essential in any attempt to safeguard the Sumatran orangutan and its tropical forest habitat. Our varied and informative environmental programme works to deliver key conservation messages and in-depth knowledge on species and habitat protection, using the orangutan as a flagship species for the tropical rainforests it inhabits.
Some of the students being grouped together
For these programs 10 students are selected to represent each local school, with about 60 schools participating in each session. The students, along with their teachers, all come to an outdoor location and camp out for three days. This not only allows them to enjoy being outside and next to nature, (there’s forest nearby!) but it also serves to create a conservation network. In that all of these participants are out and learning together, sharing and discussing ideas amongst themselves and with SOS-OIC staff.
Our Education division coordinator, M. Indra Kurnia, describing the importance of composting
Students are given talks on wildlife, conservation issues, and practical conservation actions they can undertake themselves. They are given training in practical aspects of conservation such as paper recycling (and production!), composting, proper disposal of rubbish and the application of conservation tools and surveying techniques.
Paper recycling - paper is blended into a pulp, mixed with leaf material for effect, and then dried to form new paper.
Through the use of interactive practical activities, educational films and targeted workshops, this programme has a high-impact, long-lasting effect at a grass-roots level, changing the way young people see their environment, whilst empowering them with the means to become actively involved in much-needed conservation projects themselves.
The composter built by the students
It doesn’t look like much (or very impressive!), but this handmade composter can be made very easily with readily available materials. The compost produced can then be used as organic fertilizer for any number of crops, both reducing the amount of waste to be discarded and also the need for any harsh, potentially expensive fertilizers.
Group discussions bring together students and teachers from different schools
The camp offers environmental training that is not offered in schools and also gives teachers the chance to receive training in communicating environmental messages so that the next generation will see the value in protecting their environment. The programme is free to attend for Indonesian students and teachers. Just recently, funding was awarded by BOS Canada (http://www.orangutan.ca/) to host another camp session in the Langkat province, which is one of the last provinces in North Sumatra where orangutans exist in the wild. Therefore the children from these communities are growing up and living in areas adjacent to key habitat areas for conservation and biodiversity.
Student read a poem about environment
It’s amazing the amount of knowledge and passion the children of Indonesia have demonstrated through programmes such as ours. As part of the closing ceremonies, they have a poetry session, where they recite verses they themselves write about the environment. It almost seems that if it were up to them alone, most all of the problems associated with orangutan conservation would come to an end.
By empowering young generations and instilling a sense of care and responsibility, the SOS-OIC is equipping a future generation with the tools and motivation needed. A system of community wildlife management is perhaps the only viable hope for conservation, of which environmental education programmes such as these can be seen as the first step towards securing a future for the wild orangutan.
First published on http://sos-oic.blogspot.com/2008/05/conservation-camps-programme.html
Greetings from Medan – School Visit Programme
May 6, 2008
Greetings!
This is to be the latest development for the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) – entering the realm of the weblog . Hopefully through this medium will be able to better share with the world what we here at the Sumatran Orangutan Society – Orangutan Information Centre (SOS-OIC) are up to.
Which I suppose should start by explaining that distinction. The SOS-OIC is considered the field office of the Sumatran Orangutan Society. It is located here in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia (will post photos of the office soon). Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia – so it has got quite a lot of development and a fair deal of affluence. But it is still Sumatra, meaning that the forests (and the orangutans!) are not that far off (Bukit Lawang, the most popular gateway into Gunung Leuser National Park, is only 80km from Medan). From the SOS-OIC office we base all of our conservation operations in Sumatra, which I shall detail in time from this site (summary details can also be retrieved from: http://orangutans-sos.org/projects).
As you may already know, the SOS-OIC is primarily concerned with conservation education and outreach to local communities in Sumatra (though we also run forest replanting projects {to be detailed soon!} and are soon to start an education programme centered around the tourism situation in the above mentioned Bukit Lawang {also to be detailed soon – I did my MSc research in Bukit Lawang, so I’m quite keen to go on about that site!}).
One such education initiative we have is visiting community schools with our OranguVan service
This is our latest OranguVan in the fleet (two total at the moment), with major funding provided by the Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. The OranguVan is a rugged mobile library that allows for travel to different communities throughout Sumatra (sometimes across roads in various states of disrepair!).
School Visit Activities: Games and Quiz
Our goal is to reach as much of the community as possible. However, young people are to be the next generation of decision-makers of the world, therefore we have special programmes in place specifically aimed at educating young people.
School Visit Activities: Discussion with the Students
In North Sumatra (and perhaps most of Indonesia) there is no conservation/environmental education curriculum in place in schools. However, 40% of Indonesia’s forests were cleared between 1950-2000, reducing ground cover from roughly 162 million hectares to 98 million (FWI/GFW, 2002); Further, forest cover in Sumatra alone was reduced by 61% from 1985-1997 due to logging, infrastructure development, internal migration, and plantation development (McConkey, 2005). There is thus an urgent need for conservation education, so as to inform the people of both the past and the current situation, so that they themselves have the knowledge and power to shape their future.
School Visit Activities: Gifts for the Students
The SOS-OIC has therefore created and implented a conservation education curriculum that has officially been accepted by the governments from two large provinces here in North Sumatra (these are mostly rural provinces that border orangutan habitat and national parks – however we have plans to begin the education programme within Medan this coming September). The school visit programme (along with ALL of SOS’s programmes) is run by our local Indonesian staff, many of which have advanced university degrees. The Founding Director of the SOS-OIC, Panut Hadisiswoyo, is currently at Oxford Brookes University (of which he was awarded a full scholarship to attend) in Oxford, England studying for his MSc in Primate Conservation. He is set to return next week and will use that education to further propel the SOS-OIC in its mission to help save the Sumatran orangutan.
OIC Team and the Students Pose in front of OranguVan
The Sumatran orangutan population has decreased by 86% over the past 100 years and the most recent estimate places the figure around 7,300 left in the wild, with steady losses occurring every year (van Schaik et al., 2001; UNEP, 2007). Young Indonesians are to be the next generation that will truly hold the fate of the wild orangutan in their hands. Therefore it is imperative that theythemselves are given a proper and complete education – the sooner the better!
Well, that will do it for now! Any and all feedback is welcomed!
-dave
References: (although perhaps not typical in weblog format – I always like to know where data comes from – so I’ll make it available should you wish to dig deeper into the issues!)
FWI/GFW (2002). The State of the Forest: Indonesia. Bogor, Indonesia: Forest Watch Indonesia: Washington, D.C.: Global Forest Watch.
McConkey, K. (2005). Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii). In: Caldecott, J. and Miles, L. (eds.) World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation. University of California Press, pp.184-204.
UNEP (2007). The Last Stand of the Orangutan – State of Emergency: Illegal Logging, Fire and Palm Oil in Indonesia’s National Parks. In: Nellemann, C., Miles, L., Kaltenborn, B. P., and Virtue, M., and Ahlenius, H., eds. Norway: United Nations Environment Programme.
van Schaik, C. P., Monk, K. A. and Robertson, J. M. Y. (2001). Dramatic Decline in Orang-Utan Numbers in the Leuser Ecosystem, Northern Sumatra. Oryx 35 (1), pp.14-25.
First published on http://sos-oic.blogspot.com/2008/05/greetings-from-medan-school-visit.html
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