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. The students was accompanied by Prof. Ulrich Scholz. This Giessen University Excursion Program has been visited UGM annually since 2011.
Faculty of Geography delegated 9 students of Master Program on Planning and Management of Coastal Area and Watershed (MPPDAS) and Bachelor Program on Regional Development to assist the field excursion. 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, speaded in Sleman and Gunungkidul, Special Regions of Yogyakarta and also Magelang.
The first group (Rice Cultivation) 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. The second group (Volcanism Institution) which consists of Tamara, Katarine, and Parana 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.
Ibrahim, Simon, and Ulya joined in thirth group (Volcanic Disasters), visited the 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. This fourth group (Culture in Prambanan), 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.
Katha, Natha, and Annisa in fifth group (Living Condition in Gunung Kidul) 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. Jonas, Christian, and Nova in sixth group (Drinking Water) visited Baron beach in Gunung Kidul. At Baron, they looked for information related to drinking water management site, pumping water site, and telaga. The Karst and Climate’s team includes Hendrik, Joe, and Aziz chosen 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 Team consists of Momo, Lisa, and Riasasi, observed the Buddist culture 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. The last group (Living Condition in Selo Highland) consist of Nikolai, Anka, and Ihsan, 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.