SEAToday.com, Tangerang Selatan-School holidays have arrived, and parents are looking for fun and educational activities for their children to keep busy. Encouraging their children to spend time in nature, could be one of the options. Nature therapy could aid children to develop physically and mentally as well as to foster creativity.

That’s where “Kebun Kumara” comes in, offering a range of holiday programs for children, especially those aged 2 to 6,  such as growing, nurturing, and harvesting plants, through camps and workshops. The variety of programs are available from December 21 to 31.

Sarah Adipayanti, Educational Program and Children Learning Manager at Kebun Kumara said, “We want to introduce this concept to children as early as possible. To let them know about the origin of the food they eat. And what kinds of animals are there inside a garden, to tell them that the animals also have an important role in helping us grow our food. For example, earthworm.”

The children will also be learning to grow the food they would normally eat, such as red beans, water spinach, and basil.

On planting red beans, the children were told a short story about a cat who grows a red bean plant. This is to illustrate the process in a fun way.

Living in urban areas can affect children by having limited access to nature, therefore, it is the role of parents, educators, as well as the government to make biodiverse areas more accessible to children.

One of the parents, Danar Sekartaji said, “Usually we go to the mall, but now I want to explore more. We can also try gardening during the holidays. I wish, later on, we can have a curriculum about planting and growing food at school.”

Through a unique learning landscape, children could explore their imagination, as well as nurture the sense of care for the nature around them.