This is a view of the Pasig River and the nearby Arroceros Forest Park. The river was declared biologically dead in the 90's while the forest is dubbed today as the "last lung" of Manila.
My love for nature and the environment is something that I want to keep to myself as much as possible. But since I have this ambition to help my co-Filipinos in improving their lives, who am I not to share my visions in protecting and caring the nature surrounding the nation. It is for us.
Well, I am planting vegetables and medicinal plants the whole year round. In simple ways, I am helping the butterflies, birds, insects and worms experience the supposedly cycle of life they were brought in this planet for. And my neighborhood, maybe, just maybe, a little percentage of the air they’re breathing is filtered by the plants we have in our mini garden.
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| My Mini Gardens. Planting is a hobby of mine and my wife. It makes our hands wet and dirty but also our weekends very relaxing. It feels great when nature is near you. |
Let me begin with this interesting story.
The Mangrove Forest of Lobo, Batangas
Back in 2018, I was given the opportunity to visit a mangrove forest in the southern part of Batangas. We call this place Lobo. With enthusiasm, I was able to capture great photos of the forest while at the same time enjoying the walk together with my wife and friends. That walk reminds me of something - the environment and the coming summer. Nature will again be explored and be walked upon by humans. And that probably, with lack of awareness and discipline, more garbage and pollutants will be left behind again.
Before we go deeper into this blog post, enjoy for a minute these wonderful shots of nature – the Mangrove Forest.
That short visit allowed me to take shots that may influence us a bit on our approach towards nature and the surrounding this coming summer months. For instance, there are signages that tells us to be fair with nature. That walk also reminded me that nature is not selfish. It will share with us what it has, provided we will also share with it the love and care it needs.
Here's another story that will invite us to bring nature closer to us.
The City Parks of Singapore
When I was in Singapore, way back 2014, I can still imagine how great was the government there in protecting, conserving and improving the nature. It was a very small country, about the size of Metro Manila and with a population of around 5 million. But citizens play their basic role – loving the environment. In my almost 2 years stay as an OFW here, I’ve seen parks, gardens and rainforests well-maintained and cared. It’s a city in the forest in fact.The Botanical Garden, Sentosa and the Gardens By the Bay are just some of Singapore's great wonders of nature. Amidst the busy way of life, people still have one outlet for stress, and that is the green and blue and environment they have around them. Take a look on some of my photography collection for that.
Aren't we envy of this country? While we have plazas in our respective towns, they're obviously not as beautiful and maintained as those in Singapore. To make something beautiful, what I learned from Singaporeans, is not about big funds and expensive projects. Sense of responsibility, consideration and discipline is the biggest factor in having a beautiful environment. In fact, it requires no big effort to make our towns and cities here in the Philippines green and clean. True. And this is where I want to focus on next.
What Can You Do as a Filipino?
The message I want to convey in this post is this: give nature a chance to heal and grow itself, with our care and help. We don’t necessarily have to go out there, plant seeds or young plants just to promote our advocacy as nature lovers. No, we don’t have to do that. Nature can heal (even destroy) itself provided we will not harm them again and again. What I simply mean with that can be best understood by these:
Certainly, we can always do our physical and mental efforts to restore back nature’s beauty and friendliness to humans. In the past several years, I believe our human efforts of greening this earth have eventually paid off. A news article surprisingly tells us that “the earth is greener today than 20 years ago”. It was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US that verified this significant development. And guess what, the credit mainly goes to China and India, countries known to high pollution in the air, land and sea, with their huge efforts in agriculture and tree planting. You can read the full article here.
There is no significant information from this article about the efforts NGOs and the government in the Philippines are exerting, to make the country greener. But I believe there are massive efforts to get nature revival and rescue done. Take this news for example.
Significant Efforts to Revive the Philippines Environment
In the Philippines, many are doing their role and part in cleaning and greening our sick environment. Kudos to these people. The Pasig River, for example, is now cleaner than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Just this 2018, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) was globally recognized for its great effort to restore back Pasig River into its clean condition – though it is still not fully the case today. The commission was awarded with the Inaugural 2018 Asia River Prize given by the International River Foundation. You can read the full article here.
Thanks to the Filipinos with a loving heart for the environment. While there are more efforts to be exerted, we are almost getting there – a Pasig River where we can catch fish and fetch water, just like in the old days. Well, some says fishes are starting to multiply in the river already. This is probably because the surrounding esteros in Metro Manila were rehabilitated by their respective local groups, with the strong leadership of PRRC.
I happened to photograph myself the beauty of this river just recently. This is how Pasig River looks like in the early morning. What a scenery!
The reality slapping us everyday is that many of us, the Filipinos, have no care for the environment at all. I have written a lot of blog articles exposing our attitudes, the lack of discipline in particular, that we struggle to change into something better. It is enough for me to share those facts, truths and realities. What I want to share now is how we can move on from being a sick country to a healthy and green one.
Start cleanliness from our homes.
Do your part in the community.
Finally, give at least a little 1% care for your surrounding and the environment.
Related Posts
Lobo, Batangas – a Place of Wonder and Simplicity
The Mangrove Forest of Lobo, Batangas
Back in 2018, I was given the opportunity to visit a mangrove forest in the southern part of Batangas. We call this place Lobo. With enthusiasm, I was able to capture great photos of the forest while at the same time enjoying the walk together with my wife and friends. That walk reminds me of something - the environment and the coming summer. Nature will again be explored and be walked upon by humans. And that probably, with lack of awareness and discipline, more garbage and pollutants will be left behind again.
Before we go deeper into this blog post, enjoy for a minute these wonderful shots of nature – the Mangrove Forest.
 |
| "Take care of the tree, if you care for me." This is a simple reminder that caring for the trees and plants is something we must possess within ourselves. You will see a lot of reminders like this in the Mangrove Forest of Lobo. |
That short visit allowed me to take shots that may influence us a bit on our approach towards nature and the surrounding this coming summer months. For instance, there are signages that tells us to be fair with nature. That walk also reminded me that nature is not selfish. It will share with us what it has, provided we will also share with it the love and care it needs.
Here is a few more pics from that visit to the Mangrove Forest. It will remind you how sweet it is to be with nature.
Here's another story that will invite us to bring nature closer to us.
The City Parks of Singapore
When I was in Singapore, way back 2014, I can still imagine how great was the government there in protecting, conserving and improving the nature. It was a very small country, about the size of Metro Manila and with a population of around 5 million. But citizens play their basic role – loving the environment. In my almost 2 years stay as an OFW here, I’ve seen parks, gardens and rainforests well-maintained and cared. It’s a city in the forest in fact.The Botanical Garden, Sentosa and the Gardens By the Bay are just some of Singapore's great wonders of nature. Amidst the busy way of life, people still have one outlet for stress, and that is the green and blue and environment they have around them. Take a look on some of my photography collection for that.
 |
| Singapore has water catchment system designed to conserve, clean and save water for the whole country. |
 |
| Everywhere you go in Singapore, you will see plants and trees. Despite having a warm weather, Singapore is maintaining its surrounding cool and comfy. |
Aren't we envy of this country? While we have plazas in our respective towns, they're obviously not as beautiful and maintained as those in Singapore. To make something beautiful, what I learned from Singaporeans, is not about big funds and expensive projects. Sense of responsibility, consideration and discipline is the biggest factor in having a beautiful environment. In fact, it requires no big effort to make our towns and cities here in the Philippines green and clean. True. And this is where I want to focus on next.
The message I want to convey in this post is this: give nature a chance to heal and grow itself, with our care and help. We don’t necessarily have to go out there, plant seeds or young plants just to promote our advocacy as nature lovers. No, we don’t have to do that. Nature can heal (even destroy) itself provided we will not harm them again and again. What I simply mean with that can be best understood by these:
Let us NOT litter even the smallest candy wrappers and cigarette butts.
Let us NOT leave carbon footprints in the camping parks we stayed.
Let us NOT throw our wastes on the canals, rivers and seas.
Let us NOT over-harvest the plants, trees and animals in our wonderful nature.
Certainly, we can always do our physical and mental efforts to restore back nature’s beauty and friendliness to humans. In the past several years, I believe our human efforts of greening this earth have eventually paid off. A news article surprisingly tells us that “the earth is greener today than 20 years ago”. It was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US that verified this significant development. And guess what, the credit mainly goes to China and India, countries known to high pollution in the air, land and sea, with their huge efforts in agriculture and tree planting. You can read the full article here.
There is no significant information from this article about the efforts NGOs and the government in the Philippines are exerting, to make the country greener. But I believe there are massive efforts to get nature revival and rescue done. Take this news for example.
Significant Efforts to Revive the Philippines Environment
In the Philippines, many are doing their role and part in cleaning and greening our sick environment. Kudos to these people. The Pasig River, for example, is now cleaner than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Just this 2018, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) was globally recognized for its great effort to restore back Pasig River into its clean condition – though it is still not fully the case today. The commission was awarded with the Inaugural 2018 Asia River Prize given by the International River Foundation. You can read the full article here.
Thanks to the Filipinos with a loving heart for the environment. While there are more efforts to be exerted, we are almost getting there – a Pasig River where we can catch fish and fetch water, just like in the old days. Well, some says fishes are starting to multiply in the river already. This is probably because the surrounding esteros in Metro Manila were rehabilitated by their respective local groups, with the strong leadership of PRRC.
I happened to photograph myself the beauty of this river just recently. This is how Pasig River looks like in the early morning. What a scenery!
 |
| Morning View of the Pasig River |
The reality slapping us everyday is that many of us, the Filipinos, have no care for the environment at all. I have written a lot of blog articles exposing our attitudes, the lack of discipline in particular, that we struggle to change into something better. It is enough for me to share those facts, truths and realities. What I want to share now is how we can move on from being a sick country to a healthy and green one.
Start cleanliness from our homes.
Buy trash can, trash bags or any strong and secured waste disposal materials. Observe the rules of waste disposal in your local community. Know when garbage trucks come to pick up the garbage and if possible, only move out your garbage for disposal during that time. And pay attention to this: Do NOT just leave you garbage in the open street vulnerable to cats and dogs. These animals will punch holes on them leaving you and your neighbors with scattered garbage all around the street the next morning. In barangays with no trucks to pickup garbage, best to dig a hole where garbage can be disposed.
Do your part in the community.
Yes, you have a part, duty or role to play when it comes to cleanliness. Debris flown by winds or running water must be picked up by you if it comes from you. Be responsible. See to it that your trash cans are well-covered and that you have the broom and dust pan to clean up the dirt. And hear this: Do NOT clog the sewers or canals with solid wastes. Also, be considerate to others. Throw your trashes to the garbage cans and not on the street.
Finally, give at least a little 1% care for your surrounding and the environment.
When you go out, for a picnic or just a stroll in the park, pick up that litter in front of you. If there are 100 candy wrappers that you’ve seen, please pick up at least one. The 99 guys next to you, hopefully, will pick up the remaining. That’s a day when pollution in the nearby future just got prevented – and it could have started from your 1% effort.
We are inch by inch helping nature to heal itself. Pasig River revival efforts, Boracay island rehabilitation program and the now the Manila Bay rescue; these are concrete evidences we care for our environment and it should continue. The right thinking we must build in our minds is that our actions today will determine our fate in the future. And it is just two things:
We are inch by inch helping nature to heal itself. Pasig River revival efforts, Boracay island rehabilitation program and the now the Manila Bay rescue; these are concrete evidences we care for our environment and it should continue. The right thinking we must build in our minds is that our actions today will determine our fate in the future. And it is just two things:
Live or die in the nature we choose to exist.
Related Posts
Lobo, Batangas – a Place of Wonder and Simplicity
About this Post
We need a clean community. We need a greener and breathable space. To fulfill these needs, we must act – silently or out loud. This blog article just shared with you how wonderful it is to witness a clean and green environment. And that small or big effort to unclog the clogged, clean the unclean, green the razored forests and mountains, it will surely make a difference in the nearby future. Do your part. It will take nothing from you but that stress from a witnessing a polluted environment day and night. May you spend your summer trips and escapades with that tender loving care for our beautiful country the Philippines.
We need a clean community. We need a greener and breathable space. To fulfill these needs, we must act – silently or out loud. This blog article just shared with you how wonderful it is to witness a clean and green environment. And that small or big effort to unclog the clogged, clean the unclean, green the razored forests and mountains, it will surely make a difference in the nearby future. Do your part. It will take nothing from you but that stress from a witnessing a polluted environment day and night. May you spend your summer trips and escapades with that tender loving care for our beautiful country the Philippines.
This blog post is made possible by Knowriel.com, an education portal guiding the Filipinos on becoming modern entrepreneurs.
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