MERAWAT ALAM DENGAN IHSAN MELALUI REVITALISASI LAHAN DAN REBOISASI DALAM PROGRAM PENGABDIAN MASYARAKAT

Abstract

Environmental degradation and critical land in rural areas remain pressing problems that demand collective and value-based responses. This community service program addressed the low level of community engagement in land and water restoration around Embung Talang Abang, a natural water reservoir and spring source in Sumberjo Hamlet, Karangrejo Village, by asking how the Islamic value of ihsan can be internalised as a driving spirit for land revitalisation, reforestation, and aquatic restocking. The program employed a participatory community service approach comprising problem identification, socialisation of Islamic environmental ethics, seedling preparation, collective tree-planting, release of fish seeds, and post-planting mentoring, carried out together with local youth groups, religious leaders, and village government during a three-week Community Service Program (KKN) involving 15 students. The results show that framing environmental restoration through the ecotheological concept of ihsan to nature increased community participation, strengthened a shared sense of ownership over the reservoir and the planted land, and produced a replicable model that links religious motivation with practical land- and water-restoration action. The program restored part of the critical land around the reservoir on approximately two hectares, planted durian and mango seedlings, released 5,000 fish seeds into the reservoir, and established a simple maintenance mechanism carried out jointly by residents and student volunteers.