UGM has realized for a long time that forest conservation by carrying out a critical region development is needed. This was proven by the development of the Wanagama Forest in Gunung Kidul District in 1964. Until now, Wanagama is still used as a place of practice for students of the Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada. There, students and lecturers of the Faculty of Forestry, UGM, can experiment to find the best way to conserve Indonesian forests and build critical land.
Along the way, Wanagama has been developed as a means of environmental education and recreation for the public. There is a vast forest, lush plants, rivers, waterfalls, springs, and even camping ground. "Wanagama has been equipped with lodging facilities, meeting rooms, and research plots, making it an attractive place for seminars, work meetings, outbound, and affordable recreation," said the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, Prof. Dr. Ir. Moh. Na’iem, M.Agr.Sc., Tuesday (6 / 10), on the campus of UGM.
Na’iem said, Wanagama field campus had been a victim of the Yogyakarta earthquake on May 27, 2006. However, within a short period, the buildings that collapsed had been rebuilt by UGM. "The support has encouraged the managers of Wanagama, to always clean up after themselves so that Wanagama can become an ideal field campus," he said.
Wanagama Forest Manager, Ir. Sukirno Dwiasmoro, MP, expressed that Wanagama Forest has become a habitat for more than 40 species of fauna and approximately 1000 species of flora. This forest has more than 5 springs which do not dry all year and has been used by people around the forest.
As a forest for education and research with an area of 600 ha, currently Wanagama, as mentioned by Sukirno, has more than 65 types of forests and hundreds of timber herbs. "It is the basic capital to be studied and developed," he said.
Not only that, Sukirno added, in Wanagama there are educational facilities, such as dormitories, classrooms, multipurpose building, cafetaria, library, and a field laboratory as a place for training field officers, as well as for student and public activities.
Wanagama Forest is 35 km away from the city of Yogyakarta, which is about an hour drive. With beautiful and natural scenery, Wanagama is a perfect choice for an outbound location in the province of Yogyakarta Special Region.