The abundance of waste at Marina Beach was truly concerning. In response to this garbage problem, ten students from Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) conducted a campaign entitled ‘Bertaut.’ This campaign aimed to maintain the sanitary condition surrounding the Marina Beach.
The ‘Bertaut’ campaign is an acronym standing for Bersama Peduli Kelestarian Biota Laut or “Let’s Preserve the Beauty of Marine Life.” In addition, this campaign also served as a way to raise public awareness of marine pollution. This pollution could potentially inflict negative impacts, including the decline in marine ecosystems, floods, and the death of marine life.
Those ten dedicated youths mainly consisting of students majoring in Communication Science at Udinus, namely, Al Ghiffari Bintang Saputra, Arelliza Mucharomy, Lithvia Putri Amanda, Haviz Ardyansyah Nugroho, Inanesya Fortuna Dewi, Devi Rahmawati, Seravina Anggita Dewi, Syahira Putri, Dyah Puspita K, and Tiara Chintya A.
Al Ghiffari Bintang Saputra, the coordinator of this campaign, stated that the idea for this campaign originated from the fact that Marina Beach was filled with garbage, especially on the coastline. During the preparation for the campaign, those students prepared some sacks as way for the to collect the garbage, particularly the non-organic ones, such as plastics and cans.
“At the beach, we managed to gather a total of five sacks filled with garbage. These sacks would later be dumped at the Jatibarang Landfill, Mijen Sub-district, Semarang. Moreover, we were also helped by several of the beach visitors,” he explained.
Arip, the Person in Charge of Marina Beach, praised this campaign conducted by students of the Communication Science Department at Udinus. Furthermore, this campaign could reduce the abundance of garbage at the beach, allowing disasters to be prevented or minimalized.
“This campaign does inflict a positive impact on the beach. Who else would do this if not the young generation? Hopefully, these youths can raise the public awareness toward their campaign,” he concluded. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Dok. Prodi Ilkom)
