Across many parts of Indonesia, recent months have been marked by heavier rainfall, flash floods, landslides, and prolonged extreme weather patterns. These events are not isolated incidents. They are reminders that ecological imbalance is no longer abstract — it is present in our neighborhoods, schools, and daily lives.
In response to this growing urgency, Tanah Air Udara (TAU) continues to advance its flagship initiative: Sacred Soil: Youth Living Labs for Regeneration and Earth Stewardship — a program that places young people at the center of ecological regeneration and climate resilience.
Project Progress: From Concept to Community Practice
Since its launch, Sacred Soil has moved steadily from framework development to grounded implementation. The project is built on three interconnected pillars:
1. Establishing Youth Living Labs in Schools
TAU has begun working with partner schools to create small-scale, practical “living laboratories” where students learn by doing. These labs integrate:
- School gardens and soil regeneration plots
- Composting and organic waste management
- Basic watershed and drainage awareness
- Climate literacy sessions adapted to local context
Rather than treating environmental education as a theoretical subject, the Living Labs encourage students to observe, measure, plant, reflect, and connect ecological principles to their everyday surroundings.
2. Integrating Regeneration into Curriculum Conversations
The project supports teachers with simplified modules and discussion guides that connect:
- Science (soil, water cycles, ecosystems)
- Social studies (community resilience, disaster preparedness)
- Civic education (shared responsibility and stewardship values)
The emphasis is not alarmism, but awareness and agency. Students are guided to understand that floods and landslides are not merely “natural disasters,” but often the result of land mismanagement, deforestation, poor waste systems, and weakened ecological buffers.
3. Youth Leadership and Community Dialogue
Students participating in Sacred Soil activities are encouraged to:
- Present simple findings from their school gardens
- Share reflections on rainfall patterns and neighborhood flooding
- Initiate small awareness campaigns within their schools
The goal is to cultivate young earth stewards—children who grow up with ecological literacy, empathy for the land, and the confidence to act.
Why School Children’s Awareness of Extreme Weather Is Critical
1. Climate Impacts Are Already Shaping Their Lives
In many regions, students experience:
- School closures due to flooding
- Disrupted transportation
- Landslide risks in hilly areas
- Health challenges linked to stagnant water and poor sanitation
Without guided understanding, these experiences remain confusing or frightening. With education, they become learning moments.
2. Early Awareness Builds Long-Term Resilience
When children understand:
- How soil absorbs water
- Why trees prevent erosion
- How waste blocks drainage systems
- Why healthy ecosystems reduce disaster risks
They begin to see the relationship between daily habits and environmental outcomes.
Awareness fosters:
- Better waste behavior
- Respect for green spaces
- Participation in local preparedness efforts
- Reduced panic during extreme weather events
3. Regeneration Is a Cultural Value, Not Just a Technical Solution
Indonesia’s ecological challenges are not only technical—they are cultural and intergenerational. Sacred Soil reintroduces stewardship as a shared moral responsibility.
By framing soil as “sacred,” the project invites children to see land not as a resource to extract, but as a living system to care for. This shift in perspective is foundational for long-term transformation.
Early Observations and Emerging Impact
Though still in its early phase, Sacred Soil has already shown encouraging developments:
- Increased student curiosity about rainfall and flooding patterns
- Greater teacher engagement in outdoor learning
- Improved school waste segregation practices
- Student-led conversations about tree planting and drainage maintenance
These may seem like small steps. Yet regeneration begins with small, consistent acts rooted in awareness.
Looking Ahead
TAU recognizes that this growing architecture is fundamental at this moment, yet adaptive by design. As Sacred Soil grows, the program will continue to evolve based on:
- Local ecological contexts
- School readiness and feedback
- Partnerships with community stakeholders
- Climate realities that demand new responses
Future phases aim to deepen monitoring tools for soil health, expand inter-school collaboration, and develop youth ambassadors for environmental stewardship.
A Call to Collective Stewardship
Floods and landslides remind us that nature responds to how we treat it. But they also remind us of our capacity to respond wisely.
Sacred Soil is not only about planting seeds in gardens. It is about planting responsibility, awareness, and hope in young minds. When children understand the land, they are less likely to neglect it.
When they learn stewardship early, resilience becomes instinctive.
And when schools become living laboratories, education becomes transformation.
“Tanah Air Udara remains committed to nurturing this generation of earth stewards—grounded in knowledge, guided by responsibility, and inspired to regenerate the soil beneath their feet.”
