Green Picnic for Young People ( “Resilience and the City: An Inclusive Way to Build Urban Climate Change Resilience” )

Forest in Memories...

Dear Friends,

Many of us have an wonderful memories about anythings, any places, and so on...

So do I, I have a beautiful memories with  a lovely places called forest...
 
My name is Leah, I am a Papuan woman, I am Sobey tribe who live in the region of Sarmi regency in Papua province of Indonesia, these regency had a 7 hour drive by car from downtown Jayapura.

I was born and raised in the beautiful town on the north coast of the Papua Island, yyuuuppp ... that's lovely town called Jayapura, but now this town is not like before anymore ... Jayapura now become a city that has been growing very fast and rapidly ...

As a Papuan woman, forest become an integral part of my life, I really liked the forest and all the exciting experiences as well as the values ​​of "religion" in it ... 

When I was still in kindergarten till I'm going to high school, the
Jayapura city is a city that's very exciting for me, this city as a
"heaven in the jungle" for me, because every time when  I am going out by walk or by car there are so many beautiful and shady trees...

Now the city is no longer a city that I used have in my memories all
the forests have been replaced by houses, hhheeemmm ... the beauty of
my town had lost ... I could no longer felt comfortably because there
is no more shade trees on the edge of the road, I could no longer
enjoy the bird sing because their habitat has been destroyed, I can no
longer enjoy fun hiking because no more trees on forest ...

Then I rebelled with this situation, my mind rebelled, my heart
revolted, my hands rebelled, my legs rebelled ... I want my forests
back ...!!!

"As a woman, I don't want to give up...!!!"

I have to do something ... I know this is not a great idea ... but for
me this is an extraordinary movement ...

 I decided to invite so many Papuan young peoples like me to do something that

 I called "Green Picnic" ...

I just realized that we are women, we build community so we can change the habits of the community, like the citizen on my town Jayapura which is just spend their vacation or weekend or day off time with visiting for shopping on malls and swimming in the beach... I just think that we can fill our picnic with something better like planting trees, these things more valuable than just go out and do nothing... we can picnic and at the same time we plant trees in the forest ... we can hiking and the same time we plant trees on the mountain ... we can swimming in the shore while planting trees around the beach ... even we can shopping at the shopping mall while buying plant and gardening equipment ... we can restore the forest of Jayapura City that was lost ... we can do it .. . !!!

Maybe you will asked me why I chose to live up this movement...

I chose it, because I learn that people always have an instinct to be more closed or connected with nature...like sands, trees, water, air,and so on...people cannot live without all these things, that's why if I asked them to back to nature, they will be agree...

The second, I just think that, if I chose forest for spend my weekend
and picnic, I don't need some money, I can brings my own lunch
that I make by my self on lunch box, a bottle of water, and I just
need my legs to climbing and hiking and my hands to take my trees
there...I didn't need much money to buys anythings...

In the end, I do something great to save my lovely city, if everyone
planting trees then the trees can recycle the air from the pollution,
the tress can save us from the flooding and landslides, and so many
others great things...

Maybe you will asked me who are will like to do these movement...
I can tell you that, so many young people like me, we loved adventure,
we loved sport, we loved hiking, loved touring, and so on...that's why
we will enjoy these movement and as note that we are young people we
are the next generation, world inheritable for us..Papua land inheritable for us...           our forests inheritable for us...!!! that's why we must be more care...!!!

I realized so many boys and girls in Papua...so many young women and young men, just sitting on their room watching TV, googling on phone cell and computer, and do something not good for health, these is will be the great time to trash all that bad habit and change it with a good one like hiking and plant trees. Not just health, but we increasing our knowledge about environment, about nature and so on, and we can increasing our networking and relationship with so many new good friends...

Maybe you will asked me how the way I used to invited them all to follow these movement...
I used networking technology that we called "facebook", I used myfacebook page,  my facebook group, my email and my blogs and so on to introduced and to inviting so many young people in Jayapura city to follow these movement and to spent their vacations and weekend times with us...so I can used all the social media to inviting friends for something good...

"Life is wonderful"

so don't waste our time for something worst for our future...

Forest is important for us...!!!

Without forest we died...!!!

With forest we live...!!!

.....................................................by Lea

So my friends,
based on that's all ideas and to make the planting trees or "Green Picnic" movement came true, Laela my best friend and I, we were created a group of nature lovers, where we encourage more young people in Jayapura city, boys and girls, young men and women  to enjoy their picnic, holiday or weekend by planting trees ...

 Me and my best friend Laela, we make searching several forest sites in the city of Jayapura that we can make as a fun 'tour' sites for our group that we called "Young Adventurers" ,on those sites we spend a weekend or holiday together there, we have visited two exciting destinations in Jayapura, they are ... Cycloop forest and Waena forest ...

It's so incredible, we are really enjoyed the Tree Planting on our " Green Picnic " is ... and increasingly, more and more Papuan young people who are interested for picnic while planting trees came and join us ...  

And here, you can see one of our wonderful time together, when we go out there, visiting Cycloop the beautiful forest and mountain, enjoyed our Green Picnic...

and finally, I just want to share something....
Me and my best friend Laela and our group, we are plant trees not because we wanted to get a lot of funding .. .we planting trees because we love to save our forest for our next generation...we plant trees because we wanted our childhood memories that are very happy playing and joking in the lush green forest is not usurped by its dense population, widespread development of technology, and illegal logging ...we are really loved our wonderful city of Jayapura to back as an Green City and green land of Papua...we pray and hope day and night, our forest will be saved...we need forest for our future...we need forest for our next generation...because our forest ..."Papua"...was the lungs of World...!!! 

"Save Forests...Save Papua...Save World"

Cheers,

Lea 

Note : These blog made by me and my best friend Laela Tambawang for Papuan Women and Young Generation...