Youth4Nature Pays It Forward

As part of our PAY-IT-FORWARD action plan to the community, Youth4Nature in partnership with other community key players, the Municipal Government of Bongao, WWF-Philippines, the academe and the Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi, celebrated Environmental Holidays as avenues to raise awareness on climate change and the importance of caring for the environment. 

The Month of MAY in the Philippines is the Month of the Ocean.
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To create awareness of the water and the marine resources that are a source of food and livelihood of the nation's fishermen, the Philippine National Month of the Ocean is celebrated annually in May. The theme for this year is "Ang Bahura Ay Kagubatan Sa Karagatan, Ating Pangalagaan." (The Coral Reef is the Forest of the Ocean, We should care for it)

As part of the volunteers' pay-it-forward community activities, we conducted Community IEC (Information and Education Campaigns) Caravan to raise awareness on climate change adaptation, solid waste management and the importance of caring for the environment. We visited the coastal communities of Barangay (Village) Pasiagan and the Bajau Community in Kasulutan, Barangay Simandagit.  

Y4N Science High School youth volunteer Kim conducted the peer education on environmental conservation

In Pasiagan, the volunteers conducted a peer education to the youths of the village on the objectives of Youth4Nature and how we, as a community, can help one another to protect and conserve our environment. 

Y4N Notre Dame youth volunteer Nica conducted an informal lecture on solid waste management to school children of Bajau Village in Kasulutan, Barangay Simandagit 

In Barangay Simandagit, our participants were school children of the Bajau Village Community who eagerly participated in this fun-filled IEC with our youth volunteers.  The Bajaus are a community of settlers on houses on stilts in the coastal areas where garbage disposals pose a problem for health and sanitation in the community.

To celebrate WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, the Youth4Nature together with the Bongao Municipal Government and the Vice Mayor as our boatman and tour guide, brought us for an Eco Tour to Barangay Lapid-Lapid's community-managed Mangrove Forest, a protected area by the community for more than 25 years. 

raw video footage of the eco tour 

During the bumpy speed boat ride to Barangay Lapid-Lapid. No rain or big waves could stop the fun and learning experience of this Eco-Tour

The outgoing and incumbent Vice Mayor (Deputy Mayor) of the Municipality of Bongao led the Y4N core group to Barangay Lapid-Lapid (Barangay is Village), one of Tawi-Tawi's community-managed and protected lush Mangrove Forest. The objectives of this Eco-Tour were to learn the best practices of the community in Lapid-Lapid on environmental protection and for our youth leaders to actually see the potential of Tawi-Tawi in ecological conservation.  To draw out inspiration that a community working together can make possibilities for the future of our environment.  Realizing the importance of mangrove forest as shield to coastal communities to lessen if not mitigate the impact of sea level rise and tidal waves to the coastal settlers, our youth volunteers  were inspired to imitate the idea by organizing tree planting campaigns in their communities starting off in their school campuses.

Lush Greens, A Community-Managed Mangrove Forest in Barangay Lapid-Lapid, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

The Bongao Municipal Government sponsored a training and workshop on Ecological Solid Waste Management to the core group volunteers of Youth4Nature who will in turn organize their very own action plan in their respective communities on Solid Waste Management including information and education campaigns

The Core Group have drafted out their next pay-it-forward action plan to implement their own information and education campaigns on solid waste management and the preservation of our natural resources.

Looking forward to more community activities!