Creating junior stewards for Mother Earth

MANILA, Philippines - Compassion and love for the environment is not only expected of adults but also of the young. Still, one cannot help but be impressed by children who already demonstrate an innate sense of responsibility as they show the grown-ups, through actions and words, what they can do to save the earth. At the recent Lakbay Kalikasan relaunch held at the Meralco Development Center in Antipolo City, the visiting kids did not only prove themselves aware of the problems that the environment is facing but also made a pledge to protect Mother Nature from further harm through the fulfillment of small but meaningful acts in their daily lives.

Lakbay Kalikasan was first introduced in 2006 to reach out to public elementary school students within the DepEd Division of Antipolo and Rizal. Thousands of grade school pupils were the beneficiaries of this yearly program. Kids did not only participate in the various learning activities, they also developed awareness for protecting the environment through the different practices of the center that they can implement in their own way, such as basic waste segregation, importance of clean surroundings by not littering, appreciation and protection of endangered animals like birds and other living things, and energy conservation.

This year, the kids did not only enjoy the storytelling activities and games within the two-and-a-half-hour educational trip, as they also got the chance to meet the parrot Kapitan Bagwis, Lakbay Kalikasan’s official mascot and environmental ambassador, through a puppet play and mascot interaction. They also had a close encounter of the feathery kind through an aviary tour, and were able to watch, feed, and touch the stars of the bird show MDC Aviary Idols, namely Tanya (a sulphur-crested cockatoo), Monica (a white cockatoo), and Tweety (a scarlet macaw), who gamely showed the kids and their young-at-heart parents and companions their natural talents, like playing basketball, raising flags, rope-walking, and other tricks.

 In conclusion, the kids and their parents and companions made a pledge to protect the environment, imbibing it from this point on as part of their daily living.

Ruth Ramirez, Lakbay Kalikasan’s training specialist, said that the revitalized program aims not only to reinforce original goals and objectives, but also to reach out to a bigger audience. “We have plans to introduce the program to high school students to complement their lessons in Environmental Science and other subjects,” she said. 

The relaunch of the program coincided with the 12th anniversary of the Meralco Development Center. Vivien Arnobit, MDC’s academic services director, emphasized that the program’s relaunch was part of the “continuity of the advocacies of the center; we are not only providing learning programs and solutions that benefit our employees and their families and but also the larger community where we all belong.”

For more information, call 632-8111 or e-mail mission@mmldc.org, mmldc.marketing@mmldc.org; visit website at www.mmldc.org.