Indonesian Catholic School Takes Environmental Lessons to Borobudur Temple Grounds

Thirty-six students from a Catholic elementary school in Central Java, Indonesia,  took their environmental advocacy beyond the classroom on November 6, delivering public speeches and collecting rubbish around the Borobudur Temple tourism area to encourage greater community responsibility for the environment.

The students of Kanisius Wanurejo Catholic Elementary School in Magelang Regency delivered environmental messages at the eastern side of the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park, near the UNESCO-listed Buddhist temple complex, one of Southeast Asia’s most significant cultural and religious heritage sites.

Before delivering their speeches, the children collected rubbish along several village roads before gathering at the Balaputeradewa road junction to share their environmental concerns through speeches and visual messages.

The activities formed part of a contextual learning program on environmental issues during the first semester of the 2026–2027 academic year, organized to help students understand environmental challenges through observation and practical action.

Yosef Onesimus Maryono, principal of the school, commonly known as Simus, said teachers selected environmental issues as the central theme through discussions at the beginning of the semester. Students subsequently explored specific topics according to their respective grade levels.

The program was divided into three learning stages. Students in Grades 1 and 2 focused on waste management, while those in Grades 3 and 4 examined water pollution. Students in Grades 5 and 6 engaged in vegetable gardening.

Over the past two months, the children explored these subjects through observation and activities in their school surroundings.

“Stage A students have created handicrafts from used materials, while Stage C students have planted vegetables,” Simus said, explaining how the learning activities connected environmental awareness with everyday practices.

The initiative also encouraged students to communicate what they had learned and invite the wider community to take responsibility for protecting the environment.

“This learning activity encourages children to become more concerned about and attentive to their surroundings. They have developed messages and appeals inviting others to love and care for the environment,” Simus said.

The November 6 speeches provided an opportunity for the children to bring these messages into a public space near Borobudur Temple, which attracts visitors from Indonesia and abroad for its Buddhist heritage and cultural significance.

The school plans to continue the initiative with a tree-planting activity in the coming weeks. Scheduled for two weeks after the November 6 activity, the planting is intended to help students understand the relationship between trees, water conservation, and environmental sustainability.

Through the program, the school seeks to develop environmental responsibility among children through practical learning rather than classroom instruction alone.

By combining waste collection, recycling, gardening, public speaking, and tree planting, the initiative also helps students develop observation, critical-thinking, teamwork, and communication skills.

The school’s approach places environmental protection within the children's immediate surroundings, connecting their daily habits with the wider responsibility of safeguarding the natural and cultural heritage of Borobudur and its surrounding communities.