Energy Camp for public high school students

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is holding its 6th Energy Camp until May 29 in its geothermal project sites in Ormoc City, Leyte; Palinpinon, Negros Oriental; Sorsogon, Bicol and Kidapawan, North Cotabato for 338 academic scholars from the public high schools in EDC’s host communities.

The six-week energy camp aims to provide participants with experiential learning that promotes physical wellness and instills environmentalism, discipline and teamwork.  A brainchild of EDC president/CEO Paul Aquino, the camp started in 2004 with the goal of providing the children living in the company’s host communities, who usually do not have access to such activities, with an alternative way of learning. It also aims to orient them on the importance and benefits of geothermal energy and environmental protection.  

The highlight of the camp is an adapted version of the “Amazing Race” where the campers apply everything they learned in the camp to hurdle a battery of physical and mental challenges.

The EDC Energy Camp emphasizes the need to develop a person’s whole being, both mind and body. Aside from the usual sports and ballgames, the campers are also taught basic martial arts, fun with ropes such as knot tying, rappelling, v-traverse, and other outdoor survival skills like map reading and basic first aid. There are also classroom lectures about how geothermal energy is harnessed and these are accompanied by actual plant tours and excursions into the mountains to allow the children to fully understand the importance of the subjects. Lessons on social graces such as dancing and table etiquette are also given.