“UII Bumi Lestari #2” Beautifies Opak Park

Yogyakarta—Tourism is a reliable source of income to improve the local people’s welfare. One tourist site Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) sees as worth developing is the Opak Park that has the potential to become a nature and educational tourism area.

For that, UII launched the “UII Bumi Lestari #2” (UII Sustainable Earth #2) project for Opak Park that is located in Bokojarjo Subdistrict, Prambanan District, Sleman, on Tuesday, 20 June 2023.

UII has been involved in beautifying the area since 2021 with the production of the site’s master plan. At that time, UII’s Directorate of Research & Community Service (DPPM) also donated a boat to Opak Park to support its operations.

This project is also part the university’s gratitude and hope for its 80th anniversary. The UII Bumi Lestari #2 involved the planting of 20 blackboard, tamarind and narra trees around the park. The activity continued with the signing of an inscription by the UII rector and Prambanan District head (panewu), accompanied by the Bokoharjo Subdistrict head, to record this cooperation.

After the signing, the UII rector and the panewu cut a tumpeng (cone-shaped rice dish) to celebrate. UII also donated a rubber boat to the panewu to further the tourism activities at Opak Park.

UII Rector Prof. Fathul Wahid, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D. expressed in his remarks his gratitude to the local government and community for allowing UII to implement this program. The UII Bumi Lestari project is the university’s showcase of love for the environment and includes various activities such as tree planting. This program was initiated in 2021.

“We hope this tree planting program with the community can move others, not only for today but also for the future,” the rector said. “Although we cannot reap the benefits of what we plant today, Insya Allah [God willing], this tree planting activity will improve the quality of our environment.”

The rector also expressed hopes that the presence of Opak Park would stimulate the local economy and positively impacted the communities around Prambanan.

Meanwhile, Prambanan District head Dra. Siti Wahyu Purwaningsih thanked UII for assisting in beautifying the park.

“We hope that UII’s supporting hands and assistance can further develop Opak Park. Don’t forget that our role as the community is to support and maintain the surrounding environment, today and in the future,” she told the community members present.

“The presence of Opak Park is stimulating the economy in this area, especially the MSMEs of the surrounding community,” she said. (VIP Magazine Vol 10)