Having been aware of the current condition of coastal erosion, dozens of freshmen of Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) planted 4157 mangroves in Babalan, Demak Regency. The planting event was a part of the Udinus Care Conservation (UCC) event. It was a routine agenda held by the campus to welcome freshmen.
UCC itself is also a part of a bigger event, the 2022 Dinus Inside. The mangroves were planted by freshmen and activists. The freshmen were directly coordinated and instructed by a mangrove caretaker in Babalan, Demak Regency. The caretaker was Ali Mahmud, who was also a member of the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual, and Cultural Advancement (OISCA).
During her speech, Dr. Kusni Ingsih, MM—the Vice Chancellor III of Student Affairs—explained that the coastal erosion in Demak negatively impacted the locals. One of those impacts was a flood that occurred in Babalan shortly before. In response to this, Udinus is focused and routine in helping the locals of Babalan by planting mangroves in the area.
“We partnered with the caretaker and gave him thousands of mangrove seeds. We will later involve our Aldakawanaseta Unit, which is a nature-loving student unit at Udinus, to check the location. The next day, student representatives will directly plant the seeds by certainly complying with the health protocol,” he revealed.
During his interview, Ali Mahmud expressed his gratitude to Udinus for actively participating and helping reduce the impacts of coastal erosion in Babalan, Demak Regency. According to him, mangrove plants possess benefits for the coastal environment, including blocking the seawater so the coast will not be eroded. In addition, mangroves could also absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce oxygen (O2).
“We are helped by these mangrove seeds. Furthermore, we will involve local elementary students, the Tunas Harapan youth organization, and other stakeholders to plant these seeds with the freshmen,” he explained.
In the 2022 Dinus Inside, there were in total of 4157 new students for the 2022/2023 academic year. Those students include 1855 students in the Computer Science Faculty, 892 students in the Economic and Business Faculty, 245 students in the Humanities Faculty, 565 students in the Health Science Faculty, 279 students in the Engineering Faculty, and 155 Postgraduate students. In addition, there were also 157 new students at the Udinus Campus of Kediri. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Humas Udinus)
