River Engage 2025

River Engage 2025:

Piloting Place-Based Learning Approach to Connect Local Youth to their River

Continuing its first event in 2022, this year, Species Obscura and Indonesia Herpetofauna Foundation delivered a comprehensive survey workshop, authority engagement, and clean-up. This year's River Engage is piloting a new education approach called Place-Based Learning — a method that connects learning directly with the local environment. Held in Petang, Badung, it is an agrotourism area located in the upstream of River Ayung; longest river in Bali.

Local students who live around the habitat got to explore their ecosystem and biodiversity firsthand. They learned how nearby river ecosystem works and how to use and interact with the ecosystem in more sustainable ways. Recent studies in education show that this approach works especially well in areas rich in biodiversity, where direct exposure can be more impactful than traditional classroom lectures.

Fifty students and 6 village representatives in total received materials about and were showcased a set of local specimens of fish, arthropods, herpetofauna, and mammals that we collected for three days prior the event. Some are important bioindicators for the riparian ecosystem. In addition, they also got the opportunity to try the macroplastics survey method in the field and made the connection between human behaviors' impact on their river's biodiversity. 

Through our psychological measurements, it was found that this activity significantly improved students' biodiversity knowledge (especially fish and mammals), river ownership, and intention to be involved in river restoration effort. During the pre-event, we found two endemic species; Leptobrachium sp. and Cyrtodactylus sp.

This event is a collaboration between Species Obscura Foundation and IHF, funded by BPDLH - FOLU NC period 3 (under Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Finance) and ASAP.