Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Under the umbrella of excursion program held by Giessen University, Germany, 18 German students visited Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta on 14—15 August 2014. This Giessen University Excursion Program has been visited UGM annually since 2011. Prof. Ulrich Scholz was in charged to accompany the undergraduate students.
In order to assist the field excursion, Faculty of Geography delegated 9 students both from undergraduate students (Bachelor Program on Regional Development) and graduate students (Master Program on Planning and Management of Coastal Area and Watershed). The wholestudents grouped divided into 9 groups which were consist of two Germans and one Indonesian. In nine groups students focused on different types of theme, i.e. Rice Cultivation, Volcanism Institution, Volcanic Disasters, Culture in Prambanan, Living Condition in Gunung Kidul, Drink Water, Karst and Climate, Culture in Borobudur, and Living Condition in Highland Selo.
The first day activity, on 14 August 2014, was opening ceremony which speeched by Dr. Emma Hisbaron and Prof. Ulrich Scholz. Also, all students used the opportunity time to know each other and discuss the afterward field work. Then, on the second day, all students visited each observation locations.
Rice Cultivation. The first group consists of three students, Frank, Vanessa, and Aji. They focused on the rice cultivation system in Selo Highland. To obtained information about rice cultivation, they interviewed local farmers about the process.
Volcanism Institution. In the group which consists of Tamara, Katarine, and Parana, they visited Volcanology Institution (BPPTK and PVMBG) in Yogyakarta city. The trip was to observe the monitoring system for Mt. Merapi. A staff of Volcanology Institution kindly guided them to look around the institution, watched the Mt. Merapi modelling, seismograph, and lahar flood video.
Volcanic Disasters. Ibrahim, Simon, and Ulya joined as one group to visit the location of Gendol River and kaliadem River as representatives of Mt. Merapi eruption impact on 2010. Before, they visited the Merapi Museum nearby the locations to enrich their knowledge about Mt. Merapi. Afterwards, they observed the Gendol River and Kaliadem River and interviewed the survival people who settled nearby the rivers.
Culture in Prambanan. This group, consists of Momo, Lisa, and Eka, visited Prambanan Temple. Prambanan temple is Hindu temple located in Central Java, Indonesia, approximately 17 kilometers northeast of the city of Yogyakarta. The activities were to learn the history of Prambanan temple as one of UNESCO heritage.
Living Condition in Gunung Kidul. Students in charge within this team are Katha, Natha, and Annisa. They visited Dayakan Tengah and Dayakan Kulon Village in Semanu Sub District as representative of living condition in Gunung Kidul. In this excursion, students were looking for informations about social-economic condition includes family condition, daily activity, jobs, daily needs, and also forestry and agricultural condition using one family as a sample to answer this problem.
Drink Water, Fish. As Jonas, Christian, and Nova are in one group, they visited the field work location together. The chosen spot was Baron beach in Gunung Kidul. At Baron, they looked for information related to drinking water and fish such as dringking water management site, pumping water site, and telaga. They also tried seafood in Baron beach to complete their trip and their observation about fish in the region.
Karst and Climate. The Karst and Climate’s team includes Hendrik, Joe, and Aziz. The chosen location was Dadapayu Village, in Semanu Sub District, Gunung Kidul. This team observed problems occur in karst landform, the karst morphologic condition, the hydrology system, etc. In addition, they also visited karst hills and doline around Bribin Cave.
Culture in Borobudur. The team consists of Momo, Lisa, and Ryasasi who observed the Buddist culure existed in the Borobudur Temple era. They also interviewed to gain information about total tourist in Borobudur Temple in peak season and off-peak season.
Living Condition in Selo Highland. The last group consist of Nikolai, Anka, and Ihsan. They visited Selo Highland, which is located between Mt. Merapi and Mt. Merbabu. Their intention were to observe livelihood in Selo. They interviewed farmers, breeders, and tourism entrepreneurs. They also interviewed the owner of tobacco processing, finding out everything about the processing of cigarette.
Through this Excursion program, it is hoped to strengthening the cooperation between two Universities. Moreover, this excursion could enrich knowledge and experience for students. (BKLN Team/Parana A. S.)