I am a final year student of the faculty of fisheries at a university in the city center in my studies I have reached the seventh semester of the faculty policy as a condition for doing a thesis I must follow the policy in the KKN program (real work lecture) this is a compulsory program carried out in odd semesters from the beginning of July to the middle of August.

As a fisheries student, I was given an assignment with the theme of preserving mangrove forests and ecosystems which would later be used as a title in making a thesis, in the near future I had to go to the destination village which was close to the sea, mangrove forests are often found growing in swampy areas close to the coast.

Thanks to a letter of assignment, I finally left the hustle and bustle of the city full of noise and pollution to the place of study assignment in a village with a natural atmosphere that is still beautiful.

After introducing myself and my purpose by showing a letter from the university, I was finally escorted to the village head's house by an employee of the local sub-district office, whose house happened to be close to the beach where I could listen to the sound of the roaring waves and the sound of the wind blending with the leaves of the cypress trees on the beach.

After handing over with the sub-district office staff with the village head explaining the purpose and objectives, I was finally allowed to stay at his house while carrying out my college assignments then I was invited to enter and occupy the room whose windows look towards the beach here, very clear blue sea water ripples with rolling waves.

In addition to being the village head he also has a profession as a fisherman which has become a tradition passed down from his family as the place where he lives is close to the sea in the afternoon he asked permission to go to sea with several residents to do land trawling as an addition to his family's economy, then I asked permission to be allowed to come with him to the beach and be able to get acquainted with local residents.

Then the two of us by going through the path by walking to the beach which is only 100 meters from the house Arriving at the beach I was introduced to several residents I also shook hands while introducing myself the meaning and purpose of coming to their village

After that I took off my footwear to feel the warmth of the white sand on the beach and the cool breeze then I sat under a pine tree looking far out to sea I saw a fishing boat that was crossing in front of us and I also saw an island in front of it that was not too big there stood a sturdy building that towered like a lighthouse.

I paid attention to the surrounding scenery that was still natural here and I saw several fishing boats tied up and leaning on the pier not far from our location and the fishermen gave the signal to pull the land trawl so that it was rhythmic to fight the current from the very strong sea waves while leaning my head in my heart said it was peaceful on this beach with a comfortable and natural atmosphere of social life helping each other.

Finally, the land trawl was successfully pulled to the shore, many types of fish were found from medium to small size, then the village head called me to pick up the fish caught in the net with pleasure, I ran towards him to pick up the fish and move it to the place provided after that the village head invited me to go home because it was getting late, then I asked him to go home first.

The day showed 17.30 my heart was impatient for the sunset to arrive as a sign of the change of day then I walked near the shoreline just to wet my feet and see the foam between the shells of shells that were scattered on the shoreline and I saw a crab-like animal with a very small size that looked embarrassed to hide I tried to catch it but he ran very fast and hid under the sand.

I tried to dig the sand with a clam shell and I caught it, it turned out to be a hermit crab after I paid close attention to its very unique shape with a snail-like shell and then I released it back then I took a little run along the beach in the afternoon towards the pier adjacent to the river mouth I sat on a rock breakwater as a barrier to the sea water with the shoreline to prevent aberration when the tide.

Exactly at 18.10 it was getting dark the sky began to color orange coloring the universe which was a sign that the sun was about to sink, the sound of the wind blowing faster and faster with a roar that felt deafening with the cold that touched the skin, the sea water began to tide with the sound of the waves hitting the rock dividing the shoreline.

How beautiful it is today enjoying nature on the beach and finally I decided to go home to the village head's house to rest with a plan for tomorrow morning early morning to go along the beach to the mangrove forest Arriving at the house I greeted Safa and had dinner together while expressing the activity plan for tomorrow morning.

The village head told me that tomorrow there will be many people visiting the beach because there is a traditional event as a tradition of the locals to thank the sea for giving life to them in finding sustenance "well of course it is very exciting" I muttered to myself of course there are also various other activities the night was getting late I also asked permission to rest tonight the melodious sound of the singing waves broke the silence of the night delivering my beautiful sleep

The next morning I woke up early I saw the village head who was getting ready to head to the beach to take part in the procession of a series of events for today I also prepared equipment such as sun block cream and tustel for the needs of the investigation along the beach.

arriving at the seaside I saw the customary leaders performing the ritual of releasing the buffalo head in a small canoe decorated with fruit as an offering in gratitude to the pecinta through the sea which has been giving life to them and then washed out to sea then I immortalized the activity as a form of local wisdom.

I then walked along the beach I saw children and their parents who were playing with sand making art using sand in the form of miniatures of a house building while reprimanding safa I also stepped away from them not far from there I saw several young men who were busy playing beach poly ball which is an inter-village tournament during the celebration of traditional days for local fishermen and I also watched it while selling food and soft drinks brought by village children.

Then I stepped towards a place where there was no crowd while holding a sultel and taking pictures of the surroundings I saw a hut in front of me that was billowing smoke in my mind whether there was a fire I accelerated my steps towards the hut with a curious heart.

Once there I saw a woman accompanied by a small child cooking water in a very large pan then I asked with eastern culture full of politeness "excuse me what are you doing here" then the mother replied "I'm cooking seawater to make salt" I also hesitated and asked about the manufacturing process, as an additional income for her family's economy.

And then I walked away from the place not far from the place I saw a banner with an inscription about preserving nature in maintaining its ecosystem and there were several young people who were cleaning the beach from plastic waste that was scattered then I approached him and asked what community he was from.

With great enthusiasm he replied "we are members of the environmental community" wow in my heart this is perfect as in the proverb "pucuk dicinta ulam pun tiba" then I interviewed about the ecosystem and mangrove cultivation for my college needs but the obstacle is that many local residents are less concerned about the problem due to lack of knowledge.

Many of the impacts of the damage are in addition to the ecosystem of the creatures there as well as for sea water retention they loot mangrove forests as a family income whose trunks are made into charcoal. I said goodbye to the community and thanked them for the information provided as input material in making my thesis later.

Then I headed to the mangrove forest through the beach to take pictures of the situation there after feeling enough I went home, that night I asked permission after a few days staying at his house to the village head tomorrow to return to the city to make a report and discussion with the supervisor about the life of the community around the beach and the impact on the mangrove forest as an initial process in making a research framework.

The story was inspired by my friend @marito74 where in his diary post many portraits of the nature around the beach and I combined it with life and culture in my country.

indonesia June 23, 2024
@musaddikpase