COASTAL CLEAN-UPS AND MORE MANGROVE-PLANTING WILL SAVE THE PLANET!
By: Nora O. Gamolo
April 8, 2024 @ 7:02 PM
About the author:
Fondly called Bing by friends, Nora O. Gamolo was an intermittent visitor in Sta. Cruz from 2001 to 2004 where she conducted community studies for the Fisheries Resource Management Project funded by the Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency. Her stint resulted in one community survey of Brgy. Tagabuli and a case study of how fisheries and coastal resource management was being conducted in the town.
Having done research work in Sta. Cruz, I know that its young citizens are among the most committed in environmental clean-ups. One finds it heartwarming, since this dedication to the future will save the planet, certainly the town.
I take note that the Astorga Mountaineering and Ecological Conservation Club always integrate coastal clean-ups and replanting of mangroves and fruit trees, among others, in its special events.
Trees are essential to our natural environment. The heat that now crucifies us would have been more bearable had we more trees to give us shade, release oxygen to cool our surroundings and our lungs, and elevate our spirits with the beauty they exude.
Right now, all nations of the world are being enjoined to assist in ensuring that world temperatures do not rise beyond 1.5 degrees from the average world temperatures of about two decades ago. Alas, this is a quest in which we are losing, explaining the higher temperatures that are baking us alive and causing more pernicious cycles of El Niño, on one hand, and storms on the other.
Saving the environment certainly goes beyond tree-planting and coastal clean-ups, but these are the easiest entry-level activities required to give us a push for higher action. Hence, to build an army of environmentalists, one starts by inspiring and animating them in these activities.
Trees help stabilize the soil and prevent destructive water run-offs. They help clean up the soil, and boost the economy as fruit or lumber trees, providing us with raw materials for furniture and other industries.
Meanwhile, mangroves filter and clean sea water and prevent destructive winds in the coastal areas. More waste in the coastal areas mean more garbage to manage on land, making protection of the environment harder.
Of course, one does not stop with more brawny action, but should seek to expand the number of advocates with open campaigns and lobbying to effect more support for the environment.
Hopefully, in the coming days, we can see more people committed to joining AMECC and similar organizations in its environment-oriented activities. Saving the town, indeed the planet, requires more people, more commitment and more action.
AMECC Members plant mangrove trees as their legacy to the townand Mother Nature, and their share in saving the planet.