by Nickole Jean Codico (September 21, 2015)
As part of the requirements of
their Environmental Engineering Course, fourth year-level UST Chemical
Engineering students accompanied by some members of the faculty participated in
the 30th International Coastal Cleanup held on 19 September 2015 in
Lemery, Batangas.
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A group photo of the participants. (Photo
Credits: Kyle Linus de Guzman)
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The volunteers were mainly
composed of fourth-year level chemical engineering (ChE) students and some
members of the ChE faculty. After passing through farm lands, many volunteers
were puzzled to find that the coastal area was only half covered with trash and
debris, since some parts of the coast were already cleaned up by the locals
living in the surrounding area. It was not as bad as the group thought it would
be, as Danielle Evangelista of 4ChE-B said, “I actually expected lots of
trash. I thought that the beach would be full of garbage and would have a foul
smell”. Even with the
seemingly sparse trash, students from 4ChE-A and 4ChE-B gathered a total of 140.7 kg and there
were still a lot left to pick up in order to make the coastal area clean and
free of trash.
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| A "jumpshot" of the seven faculty members who participated. (From left to right: Engr. Emile Punzalan, Asst. Prof. George Chao, Assoc. Prof. Bernadette Duran, Prof. Edna Quinto, Prof. Evelyn Laurito, Assoc. Prof. Lani Pestaño, Engr. ER Rivera; Photo Credits: Kyle Linus de Guzman) |
The students were accompanied by
seven members of the ChE faculty, the latter also contributed in clearing the
trash on the beach. Prof. Evelyn Laurito, an Environmental Engineering Course
instructor, expressed delight at what appears to be a successful endeavor.
“Okay naman. Maraming nagawa [habang nasa Lemery] dahil nagkaroon din ng tree planting activity. Mostly two hundred
(200) seedlings of mangroves were planted.” she said. (“[The activity] was
fine. Many things were accomplished since a tree planting activity [was also
done in which around] two hundred seedlings of were planted.” she said.) After
clearing the trash, the fourth year students planted Mangrove saplings that
would eventually grow and serve as the breeding ground for organisms and
further prevent coastal erosion.
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| Photo Credits: George Chao |
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Photo by:
Jobie Tuscano
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Photo by:
Kathleen Kay de Regla
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Since the purpose of the activity
is to raise everyone’s awareness on the conservation of the environment, students
were later asked what this activity has taught them and what they felt
afterwards. A student named Denzel Soliaban of 4ChE-B answered, “I got
relieved, just by the fact that even that we cleaned a teeny-weeny part of the
beach, that teeny-weeny part could mean some difference between a cleaner and a
dirtier environment. Our efforts seem small, but I felt like I made a big
difference in saving our surroundings.” Even though a lot of students gave a
positive realization after the activity and some even answered jokingly that
they felt the sunburns afterwards, there are still some students that felt like
they have not done enough like what Ariane Arenas of 4ChE-B said, “I feel
dissatisfied after the cleanup. I know it didn’t make much difference. I know
simple things count, but I think we could’ve done better”.
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| Planting Mangrove Seedlings (Photo Credit: George Chao) |
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| The seedlings. (Photo Credit: George Chao) |
Many students told The Reaction
correspondent that they enjoyed the activity because they believe that through their
little way, they contributed to the conservation of the ocean and all the life
that depends on it. Some said that it should not stop with a one-day activity
because every day is an environmental conservation day and this activity is
just the start of a lifelong advocacy to save the environment.
The International Coastal Cleanup
(ICC) is one of the world’s largest and one-day volunteer efforts to clean up
the marine environment. It is primarily spearheaded by Ocean Conservancy, a
nonprofit non-government organization based in Washington, D.C., United States.
The cleanup is held annually every third Saturday of the month of September, in
which millions of volunteers worldwide gather near large bodies of water to
remove trash and record information on the debris collected. The Philippines
officially joined the ICC in 1994. Since 2012, the Philippine Coast Guard
Auxiliary (PCGA) serves as the national coordinator between ICC Philippines and
the Ocean Conservancy.
