Increasing Public Awareness of the Environment, IPB University Students Collaborate with DLH Indramayu Regency to Create a Pelican Program
IPB University Innovation Real-Thematic Work Lecture (KKN-T) students in Karanganyar Village, Pasekan District, Indramayu Regency, carried out a village clean-up activity called ‘Pelican: Caring for the Environment of Karanganyar’. IPB University students collaborated with the Indramayu Regency Environmental Service (DLH) in its implementation.
“Pelicans is a program initiated by students to carry out clean-up actions in Karanganyar Village together with residents and related agencies. This action aims to increase residents’ awareness of the importance of environmental cleanliness, so that it is hoped that reducing the intensity of residents to litter can be realized,” said Tiara Gurnita Putri, one of the IPB University Innovation KKN-T students.
Tiara said the program was based on community anxiety over the trash scattered in Karanganyar Village. The waste is caused by residents who deliberately throw their garbage on the side of the road and waterways because they do not have adequate facilities, considering that the Karanganyar Village garbage disposal system still applies a system of burning waste in the yards of the houses.
“On the other hand, burning waste can threaten climate change and human health in the long term because the smoke from burning garbage contains dangerous chemicals that cause air pollution,” she explained.
Therefore, according to her, a program is needed to raise local community awareness of the importance of protecting the environment by going to the field to clean up the village environment.
In practice, it is not uncommon for residents to voice their opinions in the interest of cleaning the village environment, especially those related to the garbage disposal system. Residents hope that Karanganyar Village has a good garbage collection system, so there is no need to throw garbage far away at landfills near the city. These hopes become aspirations that can be forwarded to related parties.
“Hopefully in the future the garbage can reach Karanganyar Village as well. The problem is that we don’t have a yard, so we are confused about where to put our trash. It’s not permissible to throw garbage in other people’s yards, or on the side of roads and rivers,” said Sidah, a villager.
IPB University Innovation KKN-T students have conveyed the aspirations of the residents to DLH Indramayu, village and sub-district officials. These aspirations are planned to become material for discussion at the Development Planning Meeting (Musrenbang). Not only that, IPB University students and local residents also submitted a request for a trash can to DLH to make it easier and at the same time a solution to the waste problem in Karanganyar Village. (*/Rz) (IAAS/MFR)
