Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy UGM and the leadership of BNI Bank Yogyakarta installed a smart herbal garden at the Faculty of Pharmacy. As many as 32 herbal plants grow in the garden. The garden serves to support student’s learning and research as well as becoming a space for the public to know herbal plants.
Djoko Santoso, S.Si., M.Si., the garden manager, said they had selected the various plants considered as having medicinal properties and even potential as herbal medicine. These include orange jessamine as anti cholesterol, Celebes pepper as a stimulant, and habitus suji leaves as antioxidant.
Santoso said they also grew plants considered to contain essential oil materials such as red shoots that spread pleasant aromas around the garden.
“Red shoots have antibacterial properties,” he said.
Students doing a study tour to UGM also often visited the herbal garden. “We invite them to know the various types of herbal plants here,” he said.
The Dean, Prof. Agung Endro Nugroho, M.Si., Ph.D, said the garden was one of the campus layout projects. He said they added a co-working space in the form of 3 student corners. Besides, facilities and infrastructure for more public space are also provided.
“We will provide high speed internet access to accommodate 50-100 people,” he said.
Head of the BNI Bank Yogyakarta, MohammadHisyam, appreciated the launching of the smart herbal garden and student corners, which is the result of cooperation between the Faculty and the Bank. He hoped creative ideas would emerge from the students with the inauguration of these facilities. “I hope the cooperation will expand in future,” he said.