Malampaya Foundation, Inc. (MFI), together with the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro and environmental non-governmental organisations, partnered to stage the Environmental Youth Action Camp in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. The three-day event brought together selected high school students from the three coastal towns of Baco, Puerto Galera and San Teodoro, and the city of Calapan.
(Left photo) Teddy Bolivar, programme manager of Malampaya Foundation, Inc. addresses the youth campers in Calapan City on MFI’s commitment to support educational programmes on environmental conservation and protection. (right photo) Bolivar receives a Plaque of Appreciation from Provincial Board Member Romeo Infantado (third from right) for MFI’s advocacy to protect Mindoro’s critically- endangered coastal areas.
Held from April 11- 13, the camp was designed to expose the students to actual classroom and field experience on environmental education, with a focus on marine environment conservation and protection, and the impact of climate change on the coastal eco-system.
One of the event organisers, US Peace Corps volunteer Ben Stacey, acknowledged the important role of today’s youth in safeguarding the environment as he welcomed the participants. Stacey likewise encouraged them to learn more about the wonders of the natural environment through volunteerism.
Puerto Galera Municipal Administrator Leo Persia, who represented Mayor Hubbert Dolor said, “The environment, like the mind of the youth, is easy to pollute. It is imperative for all to take care of it because once it is lost, it is hardly replenishable.”
MFI Programme Manager Teddy Bolivar reiterated MFI’s commitment to support such an educational programme on environmental science, as well as Malampaya’s dedication to the stewardship of natural resources.
The campers used the compound of an elementary school in Silonay as their temporary field shelter. Silonay is a coastal barangay in Calapan where there are breeding grounds for numerous species of crustaceans, swamp animals and mangroves.
Oriental Mindoro has a coastline of 342 kilometres spread across 122 coastal barangays including the city of Calapan. Some 20,000 fishermen have been utilising its 310,788 hectares of municipal fishing grounds .
MFI received plaque of appreciation from the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro, in recognition of its active contributions towards the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems in the province and along the Verde island Passage. Other sponsors of the camp were Conservation International-Philippines, PATH Foundation, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-MIMAROPA. (SPEX Communications)
