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| KangGURU Magazine for September 2007 Environmental KeywordsCheck out these keywords and phrases as often seen in articles about the environment.
Welcome Letter from Sue and Maggie
You'll notice that KGRE has made a few changes in this magazine - for example, the Listeners' Letters Page, now called KGRE Voices, includes e-mails, sms as well as letters. Don’t worry, you can still find all your old favourites. There are environmental anecdotes in Different Pond Different Fish and information from some of the AusAID-supported environmental activities around Indonesia. Fiona, our science expert, has written an article explaining global warming and the greenhouse effect. It's great and we hope this is the first of many science articles from her. On the KGRE Newsroom Page you can find the winners of KGRE's Photo Competition announced in the March 2007 magazine. The winning photos will be included on the 2008 KGRE calendar to be released later this year.
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What is the greenhouse effect? The Earth's atmosphere is all around us. It is
the air that we breathe. Some of the gases in the atmosphere, like
water vapor and carbon dioxide, are How does the greenhouse effect work?
There are many earth-friendly, energy-smart ways to reduce the amount of fossil fuel used to run vehicles. In Europe, Japan and the US, people can buy hydrogen powered cars and hybrid electric cars. Biodiesel fuel, where plant oil is processed into fuel, is available in many countries including Australia. It is manufactured from various vegetable oils such as peanut, soy bean and canola. It can even be made from used cooking oil. In fact, way back in 1895, Dr Rudolph Diesel developed an engine which ran using peanut oil as fuel. Apart from being more environmentally friendly than petrol, the exhaust fumes from biodiesel fuelled vehicles are more pleasant smelling. |
What is global warming?Over the past 150 years humans have been burning more and more fuel, especially fossil fuels - coal and gas for example. The fuel is needed to power vehicles and factories and to generate electricity. Because more fuel is being burnt, more carbon dioxide is being put into the atmosphere. The extra carbon dioxide is increasing the greenhouse effect, so the Earth's atmosphere is absorbing more infra-red energy and the Earth is getting warmer. Why is global warming an environmental problem?The Earth is getting warmer so now the ice at the North and South Poles is melting. This is putting more water into the seas and oceans, which can cause flooding in coastal areas. ecause the Earth's atmosphere is getting warmer there is more energy in the air, so storms, hurricanes and typhoons are becoming stronger and more frequent. There is also evidence that global warming is changing the Earth's climate, making some places drier and others wetter. What can we do to reduce the greenhouse effect and global warming?Riding a motorcycle or using electricity is not wrong. But we should all try and save energy, so that we reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere - exhaust fumes for example. Here are some ways to save energy and help reduce the greenhouse effect. Remind your family and friends at school, or in your English club, to do these things too. Save Electricity at home, at schools
and at work Bike, bus, and walk Plant Trees Recycle |
Think before you cutHere are some interesting facts about trees:
The importance of mangroves Recently KGRE asked students about environmental
problems in their immediate environment. One of the most common
problems students told us about was damage to the marine (perairan)
environment. In coastal
No smoking!Did you know that smoking is banned on some beaches in Australia. They are smoke-free zones. Smoking is also banned in indoor restaurants, enclosed workplaces such as factories, shops and offices, covered areas on train platforms and even at bus stops, on public transport and even at some children’s playgrounds. In fact the no smoking ban is becoming law in countries around the world. Do you think Indonesia should follow the same rules? |
Where did you get that great bag?
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‘Play and Learn about the Environment’
| In mid-2007, Tunas Hijau held activities with refugee children in Porong near Surabaya. They have lost their school and their play areas due to the hot mudflow which is affecting the area. Tunas Hijau Club, led by Septian, a student of SMA Negeri 7 Surabaya, brought a giant sized Snakes and Ladders game to Pasar Baru, Porong for the children. Members of Tunas Hijau demonstrated the wonderful environmental game and then held a mini version of the Snakes and Ladders competition with about 40 local children. Prizes included environmental comics plus smaller-sized Snakes and Ladders games about the ozone layer. ‘We visited from Surabaya not to give food or money or anything like that. We just gave messages through these games to the children about the environment’, said Diofan, an activist from the Tunas Hijau Club. ‘From these activities, we hope that the children could know how important it is that we take care of the environment even though their immediate environment is getting worse everyday.’ These activities were appreciated by the people in the mudflow refugee camp, both young and old.
For example the letters e, r and t can be used to make the word tree. Here's another example for you - the letters e, m, t and a can be used to make meat. All words must have more than 4 letters in them, okay? The more letters you can use in each word, the better!
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Save their homes
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Capt KGRE in Oz - an environmental observationOn July 12th I was at a popular tourist site called Gregory’s Tree, approximately 600km from Darwin and just 76km from Kununurra in far North West Australia. Back in the middle 1800s, early explorers, led by a man called Gregory, lived at the site for 9 months while they were exploring the surrounding area. Today the boab tree, into which they carved their names way back then, is still there. Tourists drive 5 km from the main highway to see the tree and read about Gregory and his camp. And guess what? There’s a rubbish bin there. It was terrific to see a rubbish bin nearby for tourists to use. Please Note: A strong plastic bag lined the bin and it was taped around the top. This meant the plastic bag stayed in place inside the bin until staff from the National Park office collected the rubbish each week. Good idea, eh? **Capt. KGRE is Kevin Dalton, KGRE's Project Manager in indonesia - email: kdalton@ialf.edu |
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 What
does this motto mean?Send an SMS - 081 2387 0479 |
To the Dump!
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Bags of troubleHere's some interesting information about plastic bags.
Litter traps in Yarra RiverWhen I was in Melbourne earlier this year, I took a cruise along the Yarra River. It really surprised and impressed me how clean the river is. You can’t see a single piece of trash floating in there. Instead I saw some litter traps floating along the river. These devices trap all kinds of rubbish that get washed from streets when it rains. The litter includes plastic, glass bottles, drink cartons, cigarette butts and lighters and syringes, as well as tree branches and vegetation debris from the parks. A river barge patrols the Yarra River regularly and empties the litter traps.
What a wonderful way to protect the river! Clean rivers not only make it safe for people to do water sports such as canoeing or boating, but also help protect animals, plants and fish living in the waterways. And they look good too! Ogi, KGRE Coordinator at KGRE in Bali |
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Oz Indo Deforestation
Initiative
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Our
environment isn’t just trees, rivers and animals, but also includes
physical infrastructure; in other words, the man-made things we see around
us every day. For example, buildings, parks and transport facilities.
If you were in a wheelchair or blind, do you think it would be easy to
go about your daily business? How many steps are there to get into your
local mosque, church or temple? What is the pavement like outside your
school or office, shops or sports ground? How do you travel to school/work
every day?
Paulien Long, from Australia, works in Bali with VIDA (Volunteering
for International Development from Australia) with YAKKUM (Yayasan Kristen
Untuk Kesehatan Umum). YAKKUM is run by, and for, people with physical
disabilities. Paulien is an occupational therapist and is trained to offer
advice to governments and companies on how
to change the environment to better suit the needs of people with physical
disabilities. This in turn helps them to become more independent in their
day-to-day activities.
Governments in Indonesia and Australia are aware of these issues and are
slowly making changes to the infrastructure. Both countries have laws
supporting the rights of people with disabilities. Public places in Indonesia
are becoming more accessible. Hopefully, in the future, our physical environment
will become more accessible to everyone in our communities. Many groups
of people are working to make this happen. Is there a way you could change
something in your local environment to make it more accessible?
In June 2007, Kevin and Ogi from
KGRE, and Ana from IALF Bali, met with a wonderful young man named
Pak Julmansyah from the Kantor Dinas Kehutanan & Perkebunan
in Sumbawa Besar. In conjunction with several important international
forestry partnerships, Julmansyah’s office |
The project is titled, Community partnerships for plantation forestry: enhancing rural incomes from forestry in Eastern Indonesia and Australia. Julmansyah and the Kantor Dinas Kehutanan & Perkebunan in Sumbawa have been helping local teak wood growers to increase their income from the crops and to understand the importance of looking after the environment in which they grow their products. The project has been conducting important training programs with local communities about the importance of the forest and the environment. Pak Julmansyah went to Australia on a study tour in 2006 to see forests and environmental projects there. He says he learnt a lot, but he also says that his Australian counterparts learnt a lot from him and the other 6 participants on the tour. Look at the article by Abby Millerd on Page 10.
She works with AYED Bogor encouraging farmers to plant trees with
their crops. |
ACCESS
(Australian Community Development and Civil Society Strengthening Scheme)
is an AusAID project based in Denpasar. The project recently conducted
a workshop in Sanur, Bali. At the workshop, groups of pembaru kampung
(village innovator) gave presentations on how they have created change
in their society in partnership with ACCESS. But instead of using the
technology available today such as PowerPoint, each group 
presented
their stories in a unique way. Marlyn and her group used traditional cloth
from Sumba to inspire others to make changes for the better in their own
communities. Other groups used stories, poems, local songs and drama to
share their messages. The groups came from South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi,
East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. Ogi from KGRE, went along to
the conference. She was impressed by the performances of each group and
said, ‘The audience was interested and never got bored as each group
presented their stories in a different way’.
John Pariwono (see June 2007 KGRE magazine) has some helpful information
about preparing for the academic interview, part of the process to get
an ADS scholarship. Each year he travels around Indonesia with a team
of lecturers interviewing short-listed candidates for the ADS program.
Two lecturers - one Australian and one Indonesian, interview each candidate
in English. Candidates must be prepared to talk about their field of study
in English. It is not really a test of English, but the interviewers need
to know you can cope with the level of English you will need to study
in Australia. They also check your knowledge of the subject you want to
study.
With 14 years' experience John has some very useful tips about preparing for the academic interview.
Here are John’s Golden Tips about preparing for the academic interview.
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John has been an academic interviewer for ADS since 1993. Don’t
forget to look at the new AusAID page on the Kang Guru website. For full
information about Australian scholarships check out www.australianscholarships.gov.au/
Membership Grows to 1,500 |
The official launch of 3 LAPIS (Learning Assistance Program for Islamic Schools) activities took place in August at IAIN Surabaya: ELTIS (English Language Training for Islamic Schools); ELOIS (Equal Learning Opportunities in Islamic Schools); and PGMI (Islamic Basic Education). These activities are funded by the Australian government, as part of its support for Indonesia’s Basic Education Initiative. And we all know how important education is! |
| Nazeem Hussain is young, an Aussie, and one of the five members of the 2007 Muslim Exchange Program who visited Indonesia earlier this year. He is a very busy man back home. In Australia he is -
While in Indonesia , Nazeem and his co-participants
visited Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Sukabumi. In Sukabumi they witnessed
the opening of a new pesantren school constructed with assistance
from AusAID's
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<
The Australian Youth Ambassadors Program The Australian Youth Ambassadors Program (AYAD)
sends skilled young Australian volunteers on short-term assignments
to Asia and the Pacific. KGRE recently met Abby Millerd. She is
working with farmers in Bogor as a Communications Development
Officer for the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) through the
AYAD program. Her role is to promote agroforestry as a management
system. Abby will be using Another New City - FANTASTIC!Would you like to live in interesting places all over the world? Who wouldn't? New and exciting environments to enjoy - fabulous! Jakarta resident, Elaine Farmer, has lived in many locations around the world including Cairo, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Port Moresby, London, Mexico and Fiji. You would have to agree that these places are certainly all very, very different. How does Elaine cope with living in such varied locations? How does she make her 'new environment' comfortable from the very beginning? Elaine has certainly followed all of her rules here in Indonesia and really loves living here. The rules?
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sure to check out the new scholarships awards to Australia at the bottom of this page. |
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Welcome to this page designed especially for students studying at universities and other higher education establishments across Indonesia. Don’t forget this is YOUR page in the magazine and if you have any suggestions for topics you would like included on this page then please be sure to contact us at KGRE - email: kangguru@ialf.edu
Successful DebatesSri from Yogjakarta and Syahrir from Makassar have both asked KGRE for information about conducting successful debates and running a debate club. Here are three reasons why debates are a good way to practise a foreign language:
Students must:
Because all this learning is geared towards a specific purpose (performing well in the debate itself) students have added incentive and a clear goal to work towards.
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Starting a debate clubA successful debate club has a strong sense of group identity. No one member works alone, rather, the whole club should work as a team. Some useful steps to creating a successful debate club: Where will the club meet?A club-room should:
How often should the club meet?The club members should meet regularly to build friendship and trust. Weekly meetings of all club members will improve fluency. Members can practise and prepare arguments on a variety of topics. LeadershipStudents should elect a president, a secretary and a treasurer from committed members of the club. New debaters can learn from experienced members. TopicsTopics can be local issues, which affect the people, and or environment around you personally, or more global issues. Below is the address of a fantastic debate website with great topics and arguments, ideas for activities and much, much more. Have fun! www.idebate.org |
Go to www.idebate.org, open up the home page and choose a debate topic. Each topic has a list of arguments- the pros and cons. Divide the members of your debate club into 4 groups. Print out the arguments and cut them up. Make a set for each group. Distribute one set to each group. The members must read the arguments and decide if they belong on the pro side or on the con side. Then they must match each pro argument to a con argument. Check the members understand any new vocabulary, then hold a 15 minute debate –two groups argue for the motion and two groups argue against.
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Scholarships
offered in honor of diplomats and their work in Indonesia In June 2007, Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Bill Farmer, announced the establishment of two awards in memory of Allison Sudradjat and Elizabeth O’Neill, two senior diplomats from the Australian Embassy, Jakarta, who died in the Garuda crash in Jogjakarta. The awards were also announced by Australia’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Alexander Downer, in Canberra.
Allison Sudradjat was the Minister-Counsellor in Indonesia for the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). Among Allison’s many accomplishments was the launch of the Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) program in Indonesia in 2006. These prestigious scholarships allow Indonesian students to study at Australian universities for a Masters degree or a PhD. In Allison’s memory, four post-graduate Australian Leadership Awards will be awarded in her name to outstanding scholars and current or emerging leaders in Indonesia. Applications for the Allison Sudradjat Awards and 2008 ALA Scholarships are now open and close on 31 July 2007.
Liz O’Neill was serving as the Public Affairs Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta at the time of her death. Recognising the influential role of the media in modern society, Liz worked tirelessly with Australian and Indonesian members of the media to foster a better understanding of both countries through accurate and informed media coverage. To continue her work, the ‘Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award’ will be conferred annually on two journalists, one Australian and one Indonesian. Sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII), the award will be open to print, radio, television and internet journalists.
For more information please visit - http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/ala.cfm
In May 2007, Kang Guru Connection language clubs (KGCCs) were invited to be part of an Environmental Information Exchange activity with Australian school students. Fourteen KGCCs joined the activity along with the same number of school groups (students and their teachers) in Victoria and Western Australia. KGCC members asked questions about the environment and environmental issues in Australia. The Australian students then answered those questions AND asked return questions about Indonesian environmental issues. Here are just two of examples of the wonderful results of this very successful Oz-Indo e-learning exchange activity.
| KGCC#081 is Randu’s Chatting Club in Babadan, Ungaran, Central Java. They have 40 active club members. Here are two of their ten questions to students at Eaglehawk Secondary College in Victoria.
The Eaglehawk SC student response? ‘Our school is cared for by our caretaker John. We also have a private cleaning company called AERO which looks after the inside and outside grounds. Filling bags with rubbish is also used as a punishment and some students stay behind after school and get paid to pick up rubbish. The rubbish is put into recyclable and non-recyclable bins and then transferred to the local tip’.
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Best Forum Club #003 is based in Makassar. Their questions went to Penrhos College in Perth. Here are just three of their questions together with the answers given by the Penrhos College Year 9 students (SMP Class 3).
The answers from Penrhos? ‘People aren’t allowed to burn rubbish in their backyards because it can cause air pollution and fires. We have very clean air in Perth and we want to keep it this way. Teachers teach their students to ‘Reduce, Recycle and Reuse’. They ask their students to think carefully about how they bring their lunches to school. They suggest that students use reusable containers and food that does not have a lot of packaging. They also encourage them to eat fresh fruit for their morning recess break rather than biscuits and potato chips so there is less rubbish. The environmental problem that is being discussed most in Perth is our lack of water. We have not had much rain this year or last year and the dams are very low. People have been asked to use less water’. |
Attention KGCC Committees and All membersA big KGRE welcome to Maggie Brady and especially to the Kang Guru Connection Club network. Maggie will be looking after KGCCs until December 2007. Please feel free to email Maggie and say a big welcome to KGCC - emails to mbrady@ialf.edu OR kgcc@ialf.edu. Cheryl Reid has returned to work in Australia and we wish her all the best. |
| Thank you for all the fantastic posters and suggestions in KGRE’s recent environment competitions. Choosing the winners was really difficult! Some of the many great ideas from KGCC members included:
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Hikmah Hasanah is from the Pioneer English Club (#019) in Sumenep - Madura. ’In 2005, our school developed recycling programs to manage rubbish control and we have succeeded. Inorganic and organic waste is separated before the organic rubbish is recycled into compost. After 5 weeks when the rubbish has reduced in volume, it is sifted and the resulting compost is used to plant tobacco, vegetables, fruit and other plants.’
As Budi Hartawan from Pioneer English Club in Sumenep says
: Gado-Gado English Club (#091) in Lombok conducts regular clean–ups as part of their club activities. ‘Once a month we have a ‘Minggu Bersih’ to clean up the rubbish in our area and promote the importance of a clean environment’ |
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Last month the Joeys organized a beach clean-up day as part of their KGRE environmental activities. They called it their Aussie Day Out. They all sang Australian songs and spoke as much English as possible. Ali, a budding environmental scientist, organized KGRE prize packs while Fatimah and Natalya decided on the tasks. The Joeys’ favourite competition was collecting as much rubbish as possible and then yelling out the names in English for all the different pieces of garbage. | If they could spell the word for each item of trash correctly, they got extra points. Ali and Fatimah won the first competition and collected 324 pieces of refuse. Samuel and Sinta came a close second with 305 and Natalya and Budi found 299. The litter they gathered included plastic bags, shampoo bottles, small plastic water containers, tooth brushes, broken soft drink bottles, some plastic hair slides, an old thong (sandal jepit) and a torn T shirt. What a load of rubbish! A heap of it! |  |
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| JOEYS TASK 1. How many different words for rubbish can you find on this page? | JOEYS TASK 2. Label 8 items in the pile of rubbish the Joeys collected. Answers can be found in the description above. |
Win
Joey’s posters and stickers! Kang Guru has fantastic new Joeys posters and stickers.
To win some, all you have to do is write 75 words about what YOU enjoy
most in your SMP English classes. Are they fun? What kind of activities
do you do? Write or email your entries to KGRE before November 15. 
Check out what the Joeys are up to on the website -
http://www.kangguru.org/joeys.htm
10 years in Bali for KGRE KGRE e-NEWS for TeachersThe second KGRE e-NEWS for Teachers has been sent to over 300 teachers across Indonesia. Have you received your copy yet? If not, it’s easy to register - email Tjok at tningrat@ialf.edu and ask to join KGRE's teacher database. The July e-NEWS has information about the benefits of forming an English teacher group in your area, ADS scholarships dates, workshops and KGRE's ten years in Bali.
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Useful Internet resources for teachersBelow are two interactive websites which have been specially developed for teachers and students. They are aimed at making everyone more aware of our impact on the environment. Recommend them to your students! www.olliesworld.com Ollie has been educating Australians about interacting with the natural world since 1997. Primary schools in Australia use the CD Rom. www.earthday.net/ This site is especially useful for teachers because you can download ‘Bobbie Bigfoot’ lesson plans, vocabulary lists, quizzes, and board games. Sounds great! Nexus is a TV program and web site from ABC Australia which helps people learn English, and find out about Australian life and culture. Each day the website has an up to date schedule. There are video stories too especially for English language learning. Go to http://australianetwork.com/nexus/ Feedback from teachers using KGRE Reward stickers
"In correcting the students' assignments, especially writing assignments, I didn't correct their grammar but more the content. It doesn't matter whether their grammar isn't good. As long as the content is very good/different from others, I'll give them stickers. Thank you Sue. When will you visit Kediri again!!" KGRE notes: This is a good example of using the KGRE Reward sticker. If you would like a set of 60 free KGRE stickers write to srodger@ialf.edu and tell us how you will use the stickers in the classroom. Motivate those students! |
A FANTASTIC TEACHER TASK - What positive effects has KGRE had on your teaching?Maybe you learnt some new ideas at a KGRE workshop, or have adapted some KGRE materials. Perhaps you introduced your students to the KGRE magazine or website. Send your entry to KGRE and you could win great teaching prizes from KGRE. PLUS a member of the KGRE staff will make a special visit to your school and meet with you, other teachers and your students. Send us a letter of no more than 200 words in English to KGRE Teacher Task, PO Box 3095, Denpasar 80030, Bali, or email to srodger@ialf.edu before November 30th, 2007.
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To cover the increased cost of production and courier, the new price for the SMA Package or SMP Package is Rp 125,000 (for either cassettes or CD), and if you want to buy both audio (cassettes and CD), the price is Rp 150,000. Please send your money by pos wesel or bank transfer to KGRE:
Note: For any order made by bank transfer, please send or fax the transfer slip to KGRE office with your name and phone no. |
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Recently
there have been a number of films with an environmental theme. Perhaps
you have watched some of them. ‘Ice Age: The Meltdown’ and
‘Cars.’ The favourite in the KGRE office is ‘Happy Feet’.
The story is simple – A penguin called Mumble sets off to find why
there are fewer fish for the penguins to eat. He meets a penguin called
Lovelace who is sick because a can holder ‘necklace’ is slowly
strangling him. Mumble ends up in a zoo where he becomes very unhappy.
The story informs the audience about marine environmental problems but
it has a happy ending.
The Australian director of the film, George Miller, said the environmental issues in Happy Feet came to him from personal experience. The over-fishing theme was inspired by news reports. The idea for the can holder ‘necklace’ was inspired by his young son who showed him something he had learned in school (SD) - how to cut the rings of used can holders to avoid trapping animals.
Care for our air from Christian Bautista On the video Christian speaks about the dangers of burning garbage (sampah). He tells viewers that ‘by burning waste you are not only polluting others but polluting yourself.’ Burning rubbish (especially waste plastic) releases harmful chemicals into the environment. Sometimes the fire smolders for hours. And all the time we are breathing those harmful chemicals into our lungs. Christian believes that education is the key. He says that if people are lazy about the environment then there will be big problems in the future. Why not have a ‘clean air campaign’ where you live and educate others about reusing, recycling and disposing of rubbish carefully?
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Balawan speaks about the environment Earlier this year, KGRE interviewed I Made Balawan a very talented Balinese musician who has developed a unique style of guitar playing called tapping. KGRE asked Balawan about environmental problems in Indonesia. Balawan offered a simple way we could all help reduce rubbish – something he learnt during his time studying in Sydney.
Balawan is also a member of OzMate. |
Observations from a visitor to Indonesia What do you think?I observed a group of school kids, maybe a hundred or so, on a school outing to a famous temple. As they filed out of the temple they were each given a plastic water container - the kind that comes with a little straw. A half hour later there were a hundred little plastic glasses on the street in front of the temple. A woman came out of the front door of her home and dumped a pail of plastic trash into the small irrigation ditch at the side of the road in front of her house. (Where did she think that rubbish would go?) I also observed a couple riding a motorcycle - the man driving and the woman on the back. They crossed a small bridge over a river and the woman threw a plastic bag of trash over the railing into the river. (Where did she think that rubbish would go?) So where does it go? It goes downstream, gets stuck on riverbanks, gets eaten by marine animals who mistake it for food. It blocks drains and causes floods and worse!
Bring your own shopping bag
To reduce the use of plastic bags, Australian shoppers are encouraged to bring their own bags from home. If they don’t, they have to buy them. Tap water safe to drink?Dayu was also amazed when she was thirsty and asked for some water. Her Aussie friend gave her a glass and told her to get some water from the tap. Dayu thought she was joking! She found it really strange to just turn on the tap and actually drink the water! In most places in Australia tap water is clean and drinkable. |
Put it in the bin! Bin it!Teachers and school children in Australia take rubbish disposal very seriously and students are punished if they drop rubbish carelessly in the school grounds. Ana, another Indonesian teacher of English here at IALF Bali, noticed some differences about this during her time teaching in Australia. I remember having a picnic in a park with a group
of Australian and overseas students in Perth and being really embarrassed
when one of the overseas students threw his lunch wrappers on the
ground. There were lots of rubbish bins nearby. An Australian teacher
told him to put it in the bin. Coloured Wheelie Bins |
Many
plant and animal species around the world are endangered. One of
the main reasons is that humankind is destroying the natural habitats
where these plants and animals live. Another reason is climate change
also caused by humans. Endangered animals in Indonesia include the
rhinocerous, tiger, orangutan, proboscis monkey (see picture) and
other creatures large and small. In Australia the numbat, the dugong
and the Australian sea lion are endangered. Although many organizations
around the world work hard to save these species, sometimes it’s
too late and the species becomes extinct. 
Can
you match the Indonesian words with the English words? You can find
the words in articles on this page. Compare your answers with a
friend or with your teacher. Enjoy!
some
of these problems in the future, eco-tourism is being developed
in many parts of the world, including Indonesia. Eco-tourism destinations
believe in conservation, education, traveller responsibility and
active community participation. Through eco-tourism travellers can
enjoy areas of natural beauty while at the same time help local
com-munities in a positive way. Eco-tourist organisations can be
found on the Internet. 
Hi readers! We have taken up the Captain’s challenge and are writing
the opening letter for this edition of the KGRE magazine. The Captain
has been away – camping in the outback of Australia. Actually, it’s
been a while since the KGRE office has heard from him. We hope he hasn’t
been eaten by a crocodile! No doubt he’ll be back in time for the
next KGRE magazine in December. 
Here’s the first word – clean. The two sayings are ‘clean
as a whistle’ and ‘clean up your act.’ In order
to make clear and pure sounds a whistle has to be absolutely clean.
Anything or anyone as clean as a whistle has been judged to be guiltless,
or flawless, and not involved in anything illegal.
l
logging. It’s time they cleaned up their act otherwise problems
such as landslides my occur in the future.’
How
do teachers in Australia teach their students NOT to throw rubbish
away carelessly?
called
greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere keep the Earth
warm by absorbing infra-red radiation that is radiated by the Earth's
surface. The greenhouse effect is very important and useful. If
there were no greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the Earth would
have an average temperature of minus 20°C. It would be cold
and dead. 
absorb
carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air. Have a tree-planting
day in your school or village. Heh, don't cut down trees in your
garden unless you really have to, okay? 
areas,
developers have destroyed areas of mangrove trees. Many people think
of mangrove swamps as useless, smelly places full of mosquitoes.
But mangroves play a very important role in protecting the shoreline
from erosion. They also can lessen the effects of tsunami and are
homes to some very special wildlife vital to the food chain. 
In
Bali visitors are welcome to visit the Mangrove Information Centre
and learn about this special environment. Specially constructed
wooden walkways take visitors through the twisted mangrove trees
and trained guides point out fascinating wildlife and other interesting
sites. Visit their website 
The
XSProject is based in Jakarta. They make some fantastic products
and at the same time help reduce waste. KGRE recently visited them
at their workplace and spoke to Adit and Uni (see left). These two
successful young women gave up jobs in the city to work with the
project. Here’s part of the interview with Uni and Adit.
How
many words can you make from the letters in this word - environmental
You can use letters more than once if you wish. 
endangered and losing their habitats at an alarming rate. That's
why conservation groups such as the Sumatran Orangutan Society in
Indonesia and the Australian Koala Foundation are working hard to
conserve them and their habitats. 
Kalimantan
and Sumatra are the only places in the world where orangutans are
found. They live mainly in trees. They sleep at night and are vegetarian.
Orangutans are endangered because their environment is being destroyed
through logging, clearing and burning and also because they are
hunted for food and kept in captivity. The Sumatran Orangutan Society
runs rehabilitation centres where the orangutans are trained to
return to living in their natural habitat. Find out more at 
Every
day in Jakarta 6,000 tonnes of rubbish is sent to a rubbish dump
in Bekasi. 6000 tonnes! That’s the same weight as 3,700 Toyota
Kijang cars or one submarine! For our KGRE readers, how much of
that rubbish belonged to you?
It’s hard to find a clean beach these days. At low tide some
beaches look like rubbish dumps. Depending on the winds and tides,
rubbish dumped in places many kilometers away arrives on beaches
far from where it was originally discarded. It’s not a pretty
sight. Broken sandals, shampoo bottles, plastic packaging, glass
bottles, toothbrushes, tin cans, syringes, styrofoam lunch boxes
and much, much more. YUK! 
How much money is Australia committing to the Global Initiative
on Forests and Climate? 
has been conducting forestry research in Sumbawa. The partnerships
are with ACIAR (Australian Centre of International Agricultural
Research), CIFOR (Centre for International Forestry Research), WWF
(World Wildlife Fund), Forestry Research and Development Agency
Republic of Indonesia, and Land & Water Society from Charles
Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia.
Only three months after the launch of OzMate (
Why did Nazeem join the 2007 Muslim Exchange Program? Nazeem told
KGRE it was simple: he got to travel to Indonesia, the largest Muslim
country in the world. And what did he see in Indonesia that amazed
him? The most interesting thing was to experience Islam being practiced
in a moderate fashion and not as hard-lined as perceptions of Indonesia
might indicate in the media in Australia. 
Basic Education Program. He says it was the nicest thing he has
ever done. The young SMP students were so excited and fantastic.
They thought the visiting Aussies were superstars. Nazeem said,
‘The students knew that some Aussies were coming to visit
their school and probably expected us to be white but they were
doubly surprised to see our dark skin AND that we were Muslim too’.
Big surprise!
As
for the future, he will no doubt be a lawyer one day but his interest
in Salam Café is quite strong too. This popular television
show provides a look at the lives of ordinary Muslims in Australia
showing that they are in fact normal, happy people who are educated,
enjoy things like football and like to crack a joke – it is
both a serious and humorous look at life of Aussie Muslims. Ninety
five percent of viewers are non-Muslim, the target audience. In
2006 the program won Program of the Year at the Australian Community
Television Awards. Café Salam has a website 
her
communication skills to educate farmers about some of the factors
that need to be considered when selecting trees for agricultural
integration. This will assist farmers in choosing trees to plant,
such as fruit trees, for personal use and for the market. She
also uses her communica-tion skills in assisting with the content
for brochures and posters on eco-certification. As a result of
work in this area, a large rubber manufacturer has since expressed
interest in investing in eco-certified jungle rubber. There is
a hope that money from eco-certification will ensure farmers maintain
their environmentally friendly farming practices. 
Together with her husband, Mr. Bill Farmer, Australia’s Ambassador
to Indonesia, Elaine has visited Aceh, South Sulawesi, many parts
of Java and even Komodo. KGRE asked Elaine what was so good about
their trip to Komodo? They loved the fresh air and sea breezes on
board the Ombak Putih from Bali to Komodo, the wildlife and the
remoteness – a relaxing and peaceful environment away from
the bustle of Jakarta. And yet Elaine told KGRE that it is the hustle
and bustle of Jakarta that she loves about that city – always
something happening – never a dull moment. Listen to Elaine
speaking on KGRE radio in October and November for more insights
into her very busy life.
Get
Me English Community (#071) organized a Rubbish Hunting activity
where members ‘collected rubbish from around their school
and then exchanged it for KGRE pins, pens and stickers. 5kg of rubbish
was collected for recycling’ and guess what? They practiced
their English at the same time. Well done! 
Sasak
English Club (#023) in Lombok, concentrated on cleaning up
the drains in their local environment to reduce the risk of dengue
fever.
KGRE
has been based in Bali for the past ten years and here’s news
of a special anniversary gift from KGRE. The technical team at KGRE
has created a 10th Anniversary Compilation CD with some of your
favourite voices heard on radio shows from the past ten years. Remember
Dr Pintar and Liz in her Language Lab segments? Or what about Walter
– KGRE’S first presenter in Bali? This special CD is
just one in a special five compilation CD set. If you would like
a copy of this special anniversary CD set then write to us at KGRE
(letter or email) telling us when you first began listening to KGRE,
which part of KGRE you like best, and how KGRE has helped your teaching.
Don’t forget to include the name and address of your school.
Luluk Rahmawati, an English teacher at MTsN Grogol Kediri, wrote
to Sue.
Did
you know that famous Filipino singer Christian Bautista promotes
caring for the environment in his native Philippines? He joined
other famous artists to make a series of short videos to encourage
Filipinos to ‘care for our air’ – a clean air
campaign. Both Christian’s parents worked at the Department
of the Environment and Natural Resources in Manila. His father also
studied for an environmental degree in Sydney. They would often
talk to him about the environment – how to take care of it,
planting trees, efficient use of electricity, taking care of plants
and not throwing away rubbish but finding ways to reuse or recycle.
You
can listen to more from Balawan on KGRE radio shows and read about
his visit to the KGRE office on the KGRE website - 
When
Dayu, an IALF Indonesian teacher of
English taught in Australia, she was surprised at the supermarket
when the cashier asked if she would like a shopping bag. She was
even more surprised when she was asked to pay for it! 
Another
difference Ana noticed in Sydney was the different coloured rubbish
bins on wheels (known as wheelie bins) which are provided for each