World Environment Day, celebrated every June 5th, is a crucial moment to raise global awareness of the need to protect, preserve, and conserve the environment. To commemorate this occasion, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), through a number of students from the Geography Department Student Association (HMD UI), held a cleanup around Lake Puspa UI on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
The aim of this activity is to educate UI residents and the surrounding area about the negative impacts of plastic waste on the environment, while also encouraging them to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
This activity involved 21 students and officials from the UI Geography Student Association (HMD). They not only cleaned up trash around the lake, but also released 20 goldfish and 10 catfish fry as an effort to increase biodiversity and ensure the sustainability of the aquatic ecosystem around Lake Puspa UI.
The event lasted from morning until 5:00 PM WIB. Although the event was hampered by light drizzle, it still proceeded smoothly, according to Feka Rahmad Hidayah, the person in charge of the event.
“That day we were a little hampered by the drizzle, but thank God we were still happy and grateful because the event went smoothly,” said Feka, who is steering committee as well as the Head of the Social and Environmental Department of the UI Geography HMD to the UI FMIPA Public Relations team.
“Hopefully, this activity can inspire UI residents and the surrounding area to always maintain environmental sustainability,” added Feka.
Feka is responsible for overseeing and managing the event’s success. He is assisted by his colleagues, Azizah Azzahra and Maura, who serve as the organizing committee. Feka also stated that the event had been planned since the formation of the UI Geography Student Association (HMD) 2023 as part of its work program, but was further refined about a week before the event.
In the theme of World Environment Day which promotes solutions to the problem of plastic waste with the campaign tagline #BeatPlasticPollution, HMD Geography UI is committed to contributing to overcoming this problem.
Every individual has an important role as an agent of environmental change, and collective efforts involving organizations, institutions, communities, and governments are needed to jointly encourage public participation to become agents of change in maintaining environmental sustainability.
“We believe that with cooperation and shared awareness, we can create positive change in maintaining environmental sustainability and leaving a good legacy for future generations,” said Feka.
This initiative, organized by the UI Geography Student Association (HMD UI), also serves as concrete evidence that students play a crucial role in raising awareness and mobilizing the community to protect environmental sustainability. Through concrete actions such as cleanups and educational campaigns, they have become agents of change, inspiring the public to always love the environment and preserve it.
