Education and Outreach

Education is a key part of successful conservation projects. By doing this, we are raising awareness of conservation issues, and encouraging people to care more about nature and the organisms around them.

Cocoon Club

In 2019, we established the "Laskar Kepompong" (Cocoon Club) in Gelonggong Village, where the Ciliwung Herpetarium is based. Every Thursday and Sunday, we have a session with a group of local children, where they are free to express themselves while learning about nature and building character.  The philosophy behind this, is that we don't know what these kids will become when they grow up - just like we wouldn't know what kind of butterfly will come out of the cocoon (unless you're a butterfly expert, of course).

Snake Conflict Mitigation

To tackle snakebite and human-snake conflict, we try to mitigate this by conducting educational talks to local schools and villages, in order to increase respect and understanding of local people regarding the snakes living around them, and how to keep both snakes and people safe. This is usually done in West Java, however we have also presented a talk on Roti Island while conducting herpetological surveys with the Indonesian Manta Project. In 2019-2020, we were supported by Save the Snakes to conduct these educational programs, which included the creation of several educational resources.

Social Media

The internet is an extremely useful tool to raise awareness and increase public knowledge about Indonesian herpetofauna and conservation issues. Over the past few years, our social media team has been actively posting educational material on Instagram to raise awareness and educate people all over Indonesia about amphibians and reptiles.

Public Outreach

In 2025, our Lab Technician was invited by Uncle Jo Coffee Bar, which is located within a 28-hectare area of Batoo Farm Adventure, to talk to visitors about reptiles in general. Often attended by families with small kids, she raised awareness about how to handle a reptile and its conservation efforts. The area is a peri-urban ecosystem, home to many snakes and lizards, and located in a bank of Cisadane River.