1st church-based eco park to open in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - The Sto. Niño de Cebu Agustinian Social Development Foundation, Inc. (SNAF) will open what is believed to be the first church-based ecopark in Cebu in barangay Mohon, Talisay City on Tuesday.

“This may be the first church-initiated eco park in Cebu. But definitely not the last as we’ll be using this as a prototype for other churches to follow,” said Fr. Tito Soquino, president of SNAF, a social development arm of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.

The eco park, located inside the premises of Sto. Niño Parish in Mohon, will have its own material recovery facility, where all garbage collected from the church will be segregated and a meditation garden, among others.

Soquino, an environmentalist himself being president of the environmental group—Knight-Stewards of the Sea, Inc., said the objective of the project is “for the 35 chapels in Mohon to also do the same.”

He explained that if waste segregation and other ecology-friendly activities will be spearheaded by the Church, then it’s easier to ignite public participation.

Soquino said he hopes that other parishes will also replicate this, as he believes garbage is a major problem faced by almost all local government units in Cebu, and possibly in the entire country. Accessible MRFs may help solve this problem, he said. An MRF, however, is only one of the features of an eco park. There is also a meditation garden.

According to Soquino, this garden will connect nature and faith, so those who will use it will remember God’s creation and in the process, will learn to appreciate and protect it. — (FREEMAN)