LETTER FOR RANGER YOHANIS

 Dear Ranger Yohanis

Hi rangers Yohanis? How are you? I hope you are fine. I’m sad you can’t join us at FLEx 1.  So I will share my experience during FLEx 1 in Bali. I got an amazing  experience that I haven’t had before. Tulamben is a good place for us. I got a lot of new things. The first time I came to the dorm I was very happy because it was near to the beach. So I could enjoy the sunrise and sunset every day on the beach with another rangers.

Diving is the most fun activity, the first time I was immediately greeted by colorful fish. After that we were invited to a depth of 15-18 meter how surprised I felt I was in the animation world because of the abundance of biodiversity. I learned about techniques in scuba diving such as mask clearing, bouyancy, equalizing, water entry and navigation. All the dive instructors are very kind, friendly, and professional in teaching us to dive. So that I can get a diving certification. How happy I am? Of course I am very happy.

At first I thought that coral reefs were rocks but in fact they are animals. Me and the other rangers planted coral reef together. And then, not only learned about how to operate the Scanning Acoustic Microscope with MERO Team but also learned about how to identify marine biodiversity  use ARMS with Dr. Dita. More than that I learned about kinds of Nudibranch. They are so cute and colorful.

 

Besides that, I did beach clean up then collect data by type of garbage with DCA Team. Then, learned about how to turn plastic waste into an item that is full of artistic value and has an economic value with Jaga Jagat. And more than that l learned about how to create an interesting blog, project based on local wisdom, Pecha Kucha and Elevator Pitch.

That’s my experience. I’m grateful to have met awesome people like Abigail, kak Yohanis, Pak Brad, kak Chandri, kak Catur, kak Titi, Dr. Dita with MERO team, kak Tenia with DCA team, kak Rista, om Sammy with another dive master and all the rangers. And thanks to Access Indonesia, US Embassy, RELO, and IIEF. Hopefully I can realize the knowledge I get. I hope we can meet in Manado kak Yohanis. Thank you for inspired me and see you.

EARTH OPTIMISM FOR ACCESS : MARINE CONSERVATION (BALI)

 

     Earth Optimism for Access is a program managed by the Indonesian International Education Foundation (IIEF) together with the Regional English Language Office (RELO) of the United States Embassy in Jakarta to provide training and skills to 20 alumni of the English Access Microscholarship Program in Indonesia. This program is focusing on Marine and Rainforest conservation.

         

How module 1 and module 2 have prepared me for my experience at MERO?

     I'm grateful, I got a lot of knowledge from module 1 and module 2. In module 1 I learned about plastic waste, marine species and their habitats, climate change, protecting coral reefs, career in conservation. More than that, I also learned new vocabulary and language frames. Here I learn while sharing information through an Instagram account (@thebhoomi).

         

     "citizen science" is a foreign word to me, and I had never heard of it when I was in school.  I asked myself, "what is citizen science". In module 2, I understand about it.  After I found out, it turns out that there are many citizen science projects such as marinedebrish.id, elasmobranch.id, scistarter.org and many more.

     From reading Blogs and IG posts of all Rangers I got new information.  So that makes me care more about the environment. The ocean have variety of flora and fauna. We will learn a lot about marine conservation with MERO (Marine Education & Research Organization) and DCA (Divers Clean Action) in Bali on the 6th-17th February 2022 .It will be a great experience for me and all Rangers.

CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT: THE BEAUTY OF WATERLILY

Have you ever go to a place and take pictures or photos of an object like a flower? Or have you ever seen a unique animal and researching it? If you have done the same thing, it can be said that you are a Citizen Scientist.

source: nps.gov.com

When we talked about Citizen Science, so I was interested in making a project with my community called The Beauty of Waterlily (TBW). Nymphaea was the name genus for water plants from the Nymphaeaceae tribe. In English known as water-lily or waterlily.

source: klikhijau.com

The Beauty Of Waterlily is a project to collect photos or data on the existence of waterlily. This project will also be a medium for learning about waterlily. Who can participate in this project?  Everyone can participate in The Beauty Of Waterlily project just by filling out the form and sending a photo of the waterlily to our address.

source: penerbitdeepublish.com

The first time I was interested in waterlily was when my family and I went to a place. Their we saw so many waterlily with various colors but nowadays it is rare to find waterlily in Jember area. Because some people think that waterlily is a weed. It turns out it has economic value and usefull one of them as an ornamental plant. Waterlily has a philosophy that human life journey is only temporary, then after that humans will definitely die and move to more eternal nature. Are you interest? If you are interest come join us and share your experience. Thank you

  

CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT : ELASMOBRANCH PROJECT INDONESIA

 

Citizen Science can be defined as public participation in collecting data for a scientifically based research. The general public can collaborate with professional scientists in analyzing, collecting, etc. which will later be useful for increasing understanding in the management of existing resources. This Citizen Science program has been proven to help obtain biological data on target species and also to increase knowledge, skills, and community participation.

source : citizenscience.org

In Indonesia, one form of Citizen Science is used to obtain conservation data for a particular species. Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest Elasmobranchs diversity in the world. Elasmobranchs are a group of cartilaginous fish such as Sharks, Rays, and Ghost Sharks. Elasmobranch Project Indonesia (EPI) is a Citizen Science project that aims to map Elasmobranchs diversity and distribution in Indonesia. EPI received data since 2019. EPI noted that from around 1250 species Elasmobranchs in the world, 118 species of sharks, 101 species of rays and 6 species of ghost sharks can be found in Indonesia marine.

Source : https://elasmobranch.id/id/peta/ 

 The project provide real-time up to date information of Elasmobranchs sighting and landing in Indonesia by utilizing a user-friendly citizen science method and network. Everyone who has interest in supporting sharks, rays, and ghost sharks conservation in Indonesia can partake to contribute for EPI, such as student, lecturer, researcher, organization, government body, even fishermen and fish seller can and are welcome to participate. You will only need to submit your encounter photograph and data, landing  or sighting, through the EPI website.

 

 

Save Our Earth from Climate Change

Climate change is literally a climate change due to an increase in the average global temperature.  We must be aware of this situation because of the effects that can be detrimental to life. But climate change that occurs is not without reason and does not just happen suddenly.  This change occurs because there are factors that cause it, both because of natural phenomena and because of human behavior.  Some of the causes of climate change include, among other things, illegal logging activities carried out by humans, the occurrence of global warming, and the greenhouse effect.

                                                            Source: UplakUplukLah.blogspot.com

This is an important issue, because the livelihoods of many people depend on agriculture, mariculture and fisheries, all of which can be affected by changes in temperature, rainfall and other. Climate change that occurs will cause extreme heat waves that can make animals  die, plants are damaged. In the high emission scenario, East Kalimantan and Sumatra will experience almost 4 degrees Celsius warming and less rainfall. Along with the potential risk of extreme forest fires, the risk of drought and the risk of flooding.  Well, climate change is also expected to increase economic damage. Some time ago, in Indonesia there was Typhoon Seroja which had quite an impact on several disasters in the country, especially floods and landslides in Nusa Tenggara.  climate change that occurs can not only cost lives, but will also have an impact on economic damage in the long term.

                                                                        Source: Kompas.com

 Since 2000 until now the condition of Indonesia has become increasingly emergency. Disasters happen everywhere, causing damage, even loss of life, loss of relatives, and property. Indonesia's governments already have various policies to stop climate change, but are these policies  fully implemented?  Many people worry about predictions that climate change will have a big impact on life, but how we can change that without action?  But in reality, the use of plastic has replaced many equipment materials made of bamboo, wood, and rattan. This is because plastic is easy to obtain.  For example, when shopping at the market, we prefer to use plastic bags rather than bringing our own shopping baskets, arguing that it is "more practical".  Now, after the plastic shopping bag is no longer needed, it will automatically be thrown away.  Whether it's in the trash or in any place, and eventually ends up in a landfill such as the sea or river.  Plastic waste that ends up in the ocean has the potential to pollute and have a serious impact on the balance of the ecosystem in the sea.  Therefore, I was inspired to take part in actions such as gardening with friends, and replacing plastic bags with environmentally friendly tote bags.

                                                                        Source: infogarut.id

 Climate change is an important issue that must be a concern for all parties.  The central government, local governments, academics, media, and the community can join hands to overcome the impacts of climate change.  For this reason, a common understanding is needed so that cooperation between elements can be realized. Hopefully we can make the environment better.