To commemorate the 65th Anniversary, UGM Faculty of Law plants a number of teak trees in the area of East Kaliurang, Hargobinangun, Pakem, Sleman, Friday (18/2). The planting event is a form of academic community’s concern to the Kaliurang community that some time ago were affected by the Merapi eruption.
Present in this activity were Vice Dean for Administration, Dr. Sutanto, S.H, L.L.M, Head of Pakem sub-district Budiharjo, singer Iwan Fals, Ikang Fawzy and Marissa Haque. During their stay in Kaliurang, the entourage witnessed the areas affected by the eruptions and invited people to sing along to forget the sadness for a moment.
The Vice Dean Sutanto said that the tree planting social services is a series of activities of the Anniversary. This effort will hopefully help the Kaliurang community to recover environmental conditions after the eruption. "Maybe next week we’ll be back here to hand over the fund raised from the Iwan Fals concert which is held to celebrate the UGM Faculty of Law," he said.
Head of Pakem sub-district, Budiharjo, felt grateful for these social activities; at least UGM has helped to ease the burden of Kaliurang citizen due to the Merapi eruption some time ago. "The impact of extraordinary eruption, as many as 35,428 residents were forced to flee from Pakem outside the zone of 20 km during the eruption," he explained.
Budi said that the impact is very extraordinary, not only the environment but also economic social order and ecotourism. He hoped this planting will speed the recovery related to environmental conservation for the Kaliurang people and surrounding areas.
"Because after all, Kaliurang is a buffer area for drinking water supplies not only for the residents here, but also for the people far away in Yogyakarta and Bantul. So what is conducted by Faculty of Law is important to the acceleration of recovery after the eruption," he said.