Field Practice Activities, Faculty of Forestry, UGM during New Normal of Covid-19 Infection
Entering the New Normality era during Covid-19 pandemic, the Faculty of Forestry UGM organizes services and activities both academic and non-academic with implementing strict health protocols. Academic activities that can be carried out by students are included research for undergraduate thesis, and field practices. Field practices are carried out by students online and offline by staying at a boarding house/house in Yogyakarta during the practical implementation. The principles of this field practices are:
- Students stay at their boarding house or at home in Yogyakarta and depart from there to the field (practice location) in the morning and return there in the afternoon
- Students trip in small teams or groups to the practice location
- The practice location is the forest area in Yogyakarta and surrounding areas
- Students bring their personal equipment for praying and personal protective, and also supplies
- Strict implementation of health protocols on trips and at the practice location (mandatory wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, and washing hands frequently with soap or hand sanitizer).
- The faculty helps providing facilities such as masks and hand sanitizers.
The Field Practice of Sustainable Forest Management (PUPHL) took place from 3-13 September 2020 (11 days), the participants were 139 students (divided by 5 people for each team) with 9 co-assistants and 19 lecturers. PUPHL during the Covid-19 pandemic was designed differently from the regular ones which was usually held at the Getas Field Campus for 23 days. The practical activities (offline) were carried out in the forest stands in Yogyakarta Forest Management Agency (FMA).
The Field Practice of Introduction to Forestry (PIK/forestry camping) was held on the weekends of September 2020 (19 & 26; 20 & 27) in Wanagama Educational Forest from morning to evening. The number of participants was 279 people (divided by 4 groups @ 60 people). This PIK Field Practice carrying out during the Covid-19 pandemic was different from the regular ones which required students staying in Wanagama dormitory and practicing in the field for 3 days.
Field Practice for Forest Type and Utilization (KL) were held on the weekends of October 2020 (3 & 4; 11 & 11; 17 & 18) in Tawangmangu for natural forests and upland plantation forests, in Imogiri for natural forests and lowland plantations, and in Baros for coastal forests and mangroves. In the KL practice during the Covid-19 pandemic, students traveled from their dormitories to the practice location 3 times on the weekends, which was different from the regular one which took 5 days for travelling and practicing in remote forest location areas such as Banyuwangi or Batu Raden and so on
