Youth4Nature Celebrates Earth Hour 2013

The Philippines for the last 4 years has been given the Hero Country Award for the most number of participants worldwide.  Last year, 1,671 Provinces, Municipalities and Cities oined this symbolic event.

Tawi-Tawi Province has been participating year after year.

This year, Youth4Nature joined for the first time.  We started the day with radio plugs over at DXGD Radio for Peace 675 Khz on the AM band.  

Kim&Zane hosting the program

With more youth participation to celebrate Earth Hour, more people turned up for this momentous event.  The objective of this event was to send a message of unity with the rest of the world, that no matter where we are, no matter how small our contributions may be to help save Planet Earth, if we work together, we can make a difference.

Pre-Earth Hour Fun

 

Sadz and PJ Dancing the Pangalay for Earth Hour

Youth4Nature Joins the World on Earth Hour

A Collaborative Effort of the Community in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

This Saturday March 23^rd at exactly 8:30 in the evening, we, as a community, together with the youths of Tawi-Tawi will be engaging the people of Bongao, enjoining everyone in the community to switch off lights from 8:30 to 9:30 in the evening, as a symbolic gesture of oneness with the rest of the world who will be switching off on Earth Hour.  

Earth Hour is the world’s largest mass participation of the symbolic switching off of lights to increase awareness on climate change and the importance of conserving energy.  With the help and understanding of the people in the community of Bongao, an island municipality in the Province of Tawi-Tawi, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines during this meaningful event, we will send a message to the world that even though we are a very small community from a very small island municipality in the Southernmost regions of the country, we can participate and make an effort together as one community.

We dare because We care.

Youth4Nature: Engaging the Youth in Tawi-Tawi on Environmental Conservation

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Learning, Sharing and Paying it Forward is What This Project is About

Standing alone, one can only do so much, but together we can make a difference.

This holds true for the project implementation of Youth4Nature in Tawi-Tawi, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Philippines.  At zero-budget to implement it with, it was almost impossible to implement it because money for some if not most reasons makes things happen.  As the main project implementer of this follow-on-project, I took my chances in volunteerism.  All I needed to do was convince a small group of people to help me with the project, and all I had to do was asked my friends to help me.  Together we have pooled our resources and linkages in the community proving true the Filipino culture of “Bayanihan”  (it means a concerted efforts of working together.  The goal is to help without counting the costs) so as one person donated pens, another donated a ream of bond paper, another one lent us an LCD projector, and everyone gave their time and expertise as their contributions towards making this project a reality at no charge at all. 

Y4N Mentors are Young Professionals Tawi-Tawians for Tawi-Tawi

I told my friends and former colleagues that I have always wanted to come up with a project with the youth in relation to information and education campaigns on environmental conservation.  I chose to mentor and organize the youth because indeed they are the hope of the community.  The Province of Tawi-Tawi has the potential of greatness because of the youth.  Everything I have done so far, I could not have done it without the help of others who believe it too.  Youth for Nature is now a collaborative effort of Tawi-Tawians for Tawi-Tawi.  We are a group of young professionals working training the youths of the community to take on that personal leadership and advocacy to care about nature in the spirit of volunteerism and be involved in community efforts, so that they too can pass this on and pay it forward.

During the last week of February, we have conducted a series of trainings and workshops in three (3) different High Schools in the main town of Bongao in Tawi-Tawi Province.  We have tapped the help of other movers in the community from different sectors of the government and non-government organizations to help train the core group of 25 student leaders from the 7^th and 8^th grade for each school.  We have decided to train the 7^th and 8^th graders so that they will still have time to pay it forward to their respective schoolmates in the coming school year, and have enough time to actually implement their pay-it-forward action plans. 

Student leaders contributing their thoughts and ideas on environmental conservation

On March 16^th, we have also launched three (3) radio programs at three (3) radio stations in the community.  There are two (2) programs on FM radio and One (1) on AM Community Radio.  The goal of having these radio programs is to give the youth the voice to air their thoughts and ideas on involving everyone else to care about nature and participate in the community’s efforts towards making the Province a better place to live in.  

Student broadcasters take turn in sharing their ideas and thoughts in conserving nature during the launching of Pag-Ayad AWOL (Caring for Air, Water, Ocean, Land) over DXGD-AM Radio for Peace 675 Khz

Environmental IEC School Caravan

We would like to thank our supporters, mentors and volunteers in Tawi-Tawi for making this project possible.  Together we can make a difference.

Youth for Nature will be conducting a training and workshop to lay the ground work for the launch of a self-sustaining youth organization on environmental conservation in Tawi-Tawi.

See you on the following schedules:

February 20&21 : Tawi-Tawi School of Arts and Trade
February 22&23 : MSU Science High School
February 25&26 : Notre Dame High School

(MSU Preparatory High School to be announced soon)

New Specie of Owl Discovered in Tawi-Tawi, Philippines

A photo taken in February and released by the Biodiversity Conservation Programme (BCP) shows one of the ten new species of owl -- Ninox-Reyi -- found in Tawi-Tawi, on the southern island of Mindanao. Scientists and birdwatchers discovered the ten new owl species in the Philippines, using advanced recording equipment that can distinguish between their hoots. - (photo courtesy of AFP with the following news article @ http://www.afp.com/en/news/topstories/new-owl-species-discovered-philippines )

Tawi-Tawi's geographical location makes it difficult for local and foreign tourists alike to experience and explore.  It being located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, makes it even harder to be considered a vacation destination because of the rampant news of aggression and security issues.  Unknown to many, however, is the fact that Tawi-Tawi is an untamed group of paradise islands. 

Dr. Filemon G. Romero, Tawi-Tawi's very own environmental scientist said in a statement, "It is not only our marine waters that contain new records in science. We are also proud to be the home of the Sulu bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba menagei), Blue-winged racquet-tail (Prioniturus verticali Strigidae), Mantanani scops-owl (Otus mantananensis), Sulu hornbill (Anthracoceros montani), Philippine cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), rufous-lored kingfisher (Todirhamphus winchelli) and the Tawitawi brown-dove (Phapitreron cinereiceps). We also have the endemic species of rat (meaning only found in Tawi-Tawi (Muridae Rattus tawitawiensis) and new species of pig (Sus spp. nov.). Tawi-Tawi Island also supports a population of slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) - Kokam, a Sundaic primate that is not found elsewhere in the Philippines (Heaney 1986). We also have the critically endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) in Languyan and Panglima Sugala."

 

Youth for Nature Launches Pilot School for Project Implementation

In the hopes of inspiring young leaders to dream more, learn more and do more for Tawi-Tawi's environment, Youth for Nature has sealed an agreement with Notre Dame of Bongao to be its pilot school for the Project.

Terri Gonzales, Community Solutions Program Leader and Notre Dame's Directress and Principal Sister Maria Diane Fe T. Gillesania, OND met on January 8th 2013 and agreed to have an environmental project relating to the involvement and participation of the students from 7th and 8th Grades.  Sister Diana expressed interest in having an in-campus interactive activity wherein the students can learn how to reduce waste, recycle and reuse those that can still be saved and for the students to actively involve themselves in disseminating the knowledge and information to their homes and respective communities off campus.

Twenty-five (25) student leaders will form part of the core group who will undergo a capacity-building training and workshop on Volunteerism, Personal Leadership, Advocacy, Effective Communication and Team Building, as well as a separate workshop on innovative and interactive Information and Education Campaigns (IEC) methods on environmental conservation including a session on zero-waste project.  It will be held on February 25th and 26th with the help of Notre Dame Alumni Association.  The training and workshop will be a joint effort of Notre Dame Faculty, Alumni and friends and supporters of the CSP Leader.  

The Core Group will thereafter organize Youth for Nature within the school campus and encourage as many members to help them plan out their "Pay-it-Forward" Action Plan.
Terri is currently in talks with other schools in Bongao, capital town of Tawi-Tawi Province in the Philippines, for a possible collaboration for the implementation of this Project.

About Tawi-Tawi

HISTORICALLY, Tawi-Tawi was previously part of the province of Sulu. On September 11, 1973, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 302, the new province of Tawi-Tawi was officially created, separating from Sulu. The seat of the provincial government was established in Bongao, the capital Municipality of the Province.



Tawi-Tawi occupies the Southernmost frontier of the Philippines bounded on the northwest part by Sulu Sea, and on the south is the eastern part of Celebes Sea.  Tawi-Tawi is peopled by 4 Cultural Communities: Tausug, Sama, Bajau and Jama Mapun. The Capital town is Bongao (pronounced Bung-gao).  The name of Tawi-Tawi is a projection of the Malay word "jauh" meaning "far." Prehistoric travelers from the Asian mainland would repeat the word as "jaui-jaui" to mean "far away" because of the distance of the islands from the continent of Asia. The word "Tawi-Tawi" was picked up to later become the official name of the province. 

Caring for the Future, Caring for Nature

Let's help Tawi-Tawi's natural resources. Be an agent of change. Be a youth for nature!

http://www.facebook.com/YouthforNature