In order to protect nature, she encourages the public to reduce their use of single-use plastic and also to carry portable ashtrays to hold cigarette butts. © Afriadi Hikmal / GreenpeaceĪs a newly enrolled firefighter, Tya’s first few duties have been to carry out awareness campaigns to talk about the dangers of forest fires, especially peat fires, to nature and to human health. Volunteers of Greenpeace Indonesia extinguishing fire on burning peatland during a training with the Forest Fire Prevention team in Teluk Meranti, Riau. Where I live, almost 50% of the land is peat soil,” said Tya. “Peat is a highly flammable soil and difficult to extinguish.

Along with other volunteers, she was given training on fire prevention in peatlands as well as navigation, safety and security protocols. Because when the fire is burning and the haze is everywhere, it’s a sign that we’ve lost but the real defeat is if we do not do anything to prevent it from happening.”īefore carrying out actual tasks in the field, she had to take a volunteer firefighting course conducted by Greenpeace Indonesia and supported by the Forest Fire Prevention team from Greenpeace Russia. “It’s important for me to volunteer as it’s time for us to take on any role, no matter how small or big. “In my opinion, forest and land fires that most often occur in Indonesia, especially Riau, are the result of human activities of those who no longer think about clean air,” she said. Now, every year, as summer rolls around, Tya gets worried because that’s when most forest fires occur, either naturally or as a result of land or plantation clearing. What is certain is that we are directly impacted by the forest and peat fires.” Small children, who are supposed to play with friends their age outside the house, were also forced to stay at home. I had to see them use oxygen cylinders at home. My parents had a respiratory infection caused by the haze.

“My family was my main reason to sign up.

Visibility was only about 1 to 2 meters,” remembered Tya. © Afriadi Hikmal / Greenpeaceĭwi Agustya Ningrum, also known as Tya to her friends, started volunteering as a Greenpeace firefighter after the great forest fire in Riau in 2015. Fighting fire Dwi Agustya Ningrum wears a full gear set during training with the Forest Fire Fighter and Prevention team in Teluk Meranti, Riau. Meet a few of our volunteers in Asia as they share their inspiring stories about volunteering with Greenpeace and how they are fighting to protect our planet. From organising peaceful protests and fighting forest fires, to painting banners and working on digital content to spread awareness, Greenpeace volunteers come from all ages and backgrounds but are united in their passion for climate justice.

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