Yogya river clean-up

Temasek students transplanting plants to build the butterfly garden, with help from local children

While their peers were enjoying a break after the examinations, 15 students from NUS' Temasek Hall took a trip to Indonesia to clean up a river.

For a fortnight in May, the undergraduates braved the sweltering heat in Yogyakarta to help improve waste management issues of the Gajah Wong River in the historic city. The field trip provided the participants a real-world platform for service-learning, while allowing them to understand more about themselves and their peers.

Year 2 Engineering student Najib Indra bin Abdul Majeed had learnt from an Indonesian exchange student from University of Gadjah Mada about the poor living conditions along the river. Villagers there are plagued by pollution, flooding and other problems.

Together with fellow hall resident Year 1 Business undergraduate Joey Lee, the duo decided to do some community service focusing on environmental conservation. Roping in like-minded students, they tied up with host partners University of Gadjah Mada Environmental Studies Centre and FORSIDAS, an organisation that aims to promote the conservation of the environment around Gajah Wong River.

The participants conducted four projects: the construction of waste collection banks; the building of a butterfly garden in the Gajah Wong Educational Park; river clean-ups with the villagers living along the banks; and reforestation with Salak fruit trees to strengthen the soil on the river banks. Besides beautifying and improving the biodiversity of the area, the project dovetails FORSIDAS' objective of having an educational park for the younger generation.

Mixing cement to construct waste collection banks

Mr Grant Pereira, the founder of The Green Volunteers ' a Singapore green group that conducts mangrove clean-ups, replanting and set-up of wildlife gardens ' mentored the students during the trip.

For Project Director Najib, the highlight of the experience was getting the children and younger community of Gajah Wong involved. After a hard day's work on the projects, the visitors interacted with the locals by engaging in social activities such as soccer.

Najib said: "This interaction was enriching in the sense that we can expect them to be more aware of their environment and this would be great for the ensuring sustainability in our projects. In the process, he also learnt the importance of flexibility and working around limitations, as well as ensuring continuity and sustainability of the efforts.

Cleaning up the Gajah Wong River