To express their love for the coastal condition in Semarang, dozens of new students at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) planted 3517 mangrove seeds in Mangunharjo Semarang. The activity known as Udinus Care Conservation (UCC) has been routinely hosted since 2015 and so far, Udinus has sowed a total of 24 thousand mangrove seeds.
The sowing process was done by new students on the second day of the 2023 Dinus Inside. Several students participating in the Independent Student Exchange Program (PMM) were also present. Those students were coordinated and instructed by the mangrove conservation activist in Mangunharjo named Sururi.
Dr. Kusni Ingsih, MM, the Vice Chancellor III of Student Affairs at Udinus, and Achmad Wahid Kurniawan, M.Kom, the head of the Academic Bureau made an appearance and sowed the seeds with the freshmen. The UCC itself is part of a bigger event called the 2023 Dinus Inside.
Last Monday, the handover of the mangrove seeds was done symbolically by Prof. Dr. Ir. Edi Noersasongko, M.Kom to Sururi in Mangunharjo.
During her interview, Dr. Kusni Ingsih explained that the abrasion in the Semarang coastline gradually became worse and worse. Upon looking at the coast destruction, Udinus began to focus on giving mangrove seeds and taking part in the sowing process. Dr. Kusni revealed that Udinus had been conducting this annual activity since eight years prior and it is still going strong to this day.
“We have tied a partnership with a mangrove activist in Mangunharjo and given the activist thousands of mangrove seeds. Later, the members of the Aldakawanaseta Student Unit, a nature-loving student club, will routinely check the mangrove conditions,” she revealed.
In his interview session, Sururi revealed that this activity brought positive impacts to the local community in Mangunharjo. One of which was that the fishermen could catch fish more easily as they did not have to sail afar at sea. In addition, the land area in Mangunharjo started to expand gradually.
“We are so grateful for these seeds as they positively impact our community. The third area of this mangrove sowing has been successful as the land area expands,” Sururi revealed.
This mangrove sowing process was done to celebrate the arrival of new students at Udinus. Currently, Udinus has accepted a total of 3517 new students consisting of 1645 Computer Science Faculty Students, 725 Economics and Business Faculty Students, 165 Humanities Faculty Students, 393 Medical Science Faculty Students, 228 Engineering Faculty Students, 50 Medicine Faculty Students, 172 Students at Kediri Campus, and 139 Postgraduate students. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Humas Udinus)
