Students from the Forest Management Program, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, carried out the 2024 Tree Planting event on Thursday (Dec. 19) as part of UGM’s 75th Anniversary and 15th Lustrum celebrations.
A total of 7,500 seedlings were planted in the UGM Special Purpose Forest Area (KHDTK) located in Tlogotuwung Village, Tuwung Hamlet, Randublatung District, Blora Regency, Central Java Province.
The tree planting event, “One Tree, A Thousand Benefits: Greening the Earth for a Sustainable Homeland,” aimed to restore ecosystems and preserve nature through tree planting to support environmental sustainability.
“This activity, attended by almost 300 participants, mostly from the 2023 cohort, is expected to be a learning and research platform for students as a future asset, particularly in the workforce,” said Dr. Winastuti Dwi Atmanto, the supervising lecturer, Friday (Dec. 27).
Dr. Atmanto explained that the 2024 Tree Planting event by the UGM Faculty of Forestry encompassed land preparation, seedling production, and planting.
The planting took place in nine blocks within the KHDTK UGM area in Getas Village. Each block contained various types of seedlings that would serve as boundary plants and filler plants.
“The seedlings used in this planting are nurtured by the 2023 cohort from the Faculty of Forestry and the Forest Management Program, and the nurturing process has been ongoing since March,” she explained.
She added that the tree seedlings planted included 984 Casuarina equisetifolia (beach she-oak), 1,313 Casuarina junghuhniana (mountain she-oak), 671 Mimusops elengi (Spanish cherry), 97 Swietenia mahagoni (mahogany), 914 Artocarpus heterophyillus (jackfruit), 274 Syzygium polyanthum (Indonesian bay leaf), 264 Hopea odorata (merawan), and 81 Eucalyptus.
Other species included 60 Pouteria campechiana (canistel), 314 Sterculia foetida (peanut tree), 475 Pometia pinnata(matoa), 103 Anacardium occidentale (cashew), and 63 Tamarindus indica (tamarind).
Additionally, 12 Durio zibethinus (durian), 17 Sapindus rarak (soapberry), 2 Terminalia catappa (tropical almond), 20 Samanea saman (rain tree), 2 Annona muricata (soursop), and 11 Adenanthera pavonina (red sandalwood) were also planted during the event.
She further explained that collected seeds were sown in seed beds, a method used to grow seeds with optimal nutrients before being transplanted. In addition to self-maintained seedlings, Perum Perhutani donated 1,500 teak (Tectona grandis) and 1,000 Indigofera seedlings.
“The seedlings were obtained by gathering seeds from fruiting trees and also through contributions from participants who brought seedlings from their respective regions after the semester break,” Dr. Atmanto added.
Earlier, the seedlings were nurtured on land owned by Dr. Winastuti in Yogyakarta. The Tree Planting Committee then transported them to the planting site on Dec. 6, 2024, using two pick-up trucks.
During the planting event, participants were divided into several teams to plant the seedlings across nine blocks.
The planting began with the staking of boundary plants, with planting distances of 1 m × 1 m for Indigofera seedlings, 2 m × 2 m, and 3 m × 3 m for other filler plants.
The event was attended by Dr. Dwiko Budi Permadi, Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Rohman, a UGM Faculty of Forestry lecturer, and representatives from the Ngawi Forest Management Unit (KPH).
Author: Leony
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afif