Respecting kids’ environmental contributions

BENCHWARMER

Ramon Dacawi 

BAGUIO CITY - The coordinator of the  elementary department of the Baguio Seventh-Day Adventist School wrote us the following letter he delivered Wednesday morning:

“Christian greetings! The Baguio Seventh-Day School has been part of your wonderful program, the Eco-Walk Program. The school believes the need for conserving our natural resources which we highly inculcate to our students. Because of this, we have already embodied this tree planting activity as one of the many school activities every school year.

“The school appreciated when you gave us an area for us to plant seedling gs, clean and maintain every year. Since 2003, we started cleaning and planting seedlings (in) the area designated to us. It was burned once that brought dismay to our students but we continued our effort in maintaining the area. Every year, we visited it and our students were filled with joy when they see their plants survived and grew. Some of our alumni who joined the activity were so proud when they see their plants are now taller than them.

“Last year, we observed some groups entered the area which we thought is ours. They put their signages that they are the one maintaining the area. To our surprise, our signage which has been there for a long time was nowhere to be found. When asked, the people in charge about it… were not able to give us a clear answer. Instead, they transferred us to another area.

“May we be clarified on these confusions so we will know what to say to our students and our alumni. Thank you very much and more power!” – AvelinoGadiano Jr.

Avelino’s is the kind of letter I dreaded receiving. Over the years, through letters and during meetings, we have been reminding fellow local  workers for the environment to coordinate with Eco-walk volunteers before assigning areas to new tree planters within the Busol Watershed. The request, repeated again and again, was precisely to prevent kids’ hearts from breaking over the supplanting of their work they began 20 years ago by Johnny-come-latelys, some of whom never return to see what happened to what they planted.  

Last Wednesday morning, we attached Mr. Gadiano’s letter to the following we wrote to the to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Baguio Water District (BWD) and the City Environment and Parks Management Office(CEPMO):

“May we furnish Your Honors photostat copies of the letter of this date of the coordinator of the Baguio Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary School regarding the recent overlapping and take-over by a government agency of the school’s “muyong” or planting area at the Busol Watershed that the kids (of the school) have been maintaining since 2003.

“Relative to this, may we reiterate letter-advisories addressed over the years, including a recent one jointly signed by Hon. Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Hon. City Councilor ErdolfoBalajadia, in his capacity as chair of the B aguioRegreening Movement, asking the DENR, BWD and the CEPMO to advise groups and individuals planning to do tree—planting and environmental activities at the Busol Watershed to first coordinate the same with the Eco-walk Program, through the Public Information Division of the City Mayor’s Office.

“It is truly sad when the efforts of children to do their share in the environmental cause, particularly tree planting, maintaining their “muyong” and seeing their trees grow as they do, are inadvertently taken over by well-meaning groups who (are assigned ) by guides who are not aware of the areas already assigned or “adopted” over the last 20 years that the Eco-walk program has been working in the watershed.

“Again, we reiterate our request for coordination and the earlier appeal of Hon. Mayor Domogan and Hon. Councilor Erdolfo Balajadia.

“At the same time, we request groups against installing streamers, placards and billboards announcing themselves inside the watershed as these destroy the ambience of the place. – Ramon Dacawi.”

For the past 20 years, Eco-walk volunteers have been witness to kids  talking to what they planted, marking and measuring them, asking them to survive and grow, to their returning and re-measuring, their eyes glowing over the thrill  of seeing their trees surviving and really shooting up. These unforgettable scenes and moments need not be dampened, spoiled and erased by images of kids crying over their discovery that their years of environmental work  have been violated by intrusions and take-overs.

As the late Peppot Ilagan, one in the team of  Baguio journalists who conceptualized the Eco-walk program for the city and the  BRM, noted: “ Children are a reminder from God that the world must go on.”

That’s why the program was launched, to help kids  learn early to take care of the environment they will eventually inherit and have to manage.   (e-mail: mondaxbench@yahoo.com for comments.)