Mangrove planting, art, music for Earth Day in Cebu

Over 15,000 mangroves will be planted in coastal and public plazas and parks in nine coastal areas in Medellin and Pinamungajan towns and Danao City  for  the annual Earth Day observance on April 22.

The activity to be spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will also cover Dumaguete City and Ayungon in Negros Oriental,  and Talibon, Tagbilaran City, and Tubigon in Bohol province and Siquijor.

An Environmental Stewardship Forum will be held at the Roosevelt Memorial Colleges in Bogo City on April 23.

The same forum will also be held in Negros Oriental High School on April 27, Negros Oriental State University-Main Campus and Siquijor State College on April 28.

A bloggers community in Cebu will have an Earth Day couch session on April 24.

Homegrown Cebuano artists led by Maharlika Artists and Writers Federation and Art Cebu in coordination with the Youth for a Livable Cebu and yogis have  activities from April 22 to April 25 with  the theme “Pakighiusa Para sa Kinaiyahan”.

The activities will center on environmental harmony in fusion with arts, music, yoga and a discussion on how to address climate change and promote Cebu as a sustainable city.

Earth Day Solidarity, a night of yoga, poetry reading, meditation and unplugged music by Cebuano artists will be held at the AnandaMarga Yoga Centre at Yusing Building along F. Ramos St., Cebu City.

An Eco-Art fair will also be held in Paseo Arcenas in Banawa, Cebu city along with the Eco-Forum at 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 25.

A  farmer’s market will stay  open from 10 a.m. to sundown, with ukelele performances, showcase of capoeira, parkour, live action painting among other outdoor activities.

DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo urged the public to also participate in the Earth Day clean-up drive in all public plazas, parks and schools within their communities.

Recyclables in all DENR offices will also be collected by accredited recyclers.

Montejo said garbage remains a serious environmental challenge among the local government units (LGUs) due to the methane released from open dumpsites.

He said segregating wastes from the source or at the household level and properly marking trash bins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes is already a ‘green’ act.

Methane is produced by the rotting of garbage in dumpsites. It is 21 times more lethal than carbon dioxide.

Reports indicate that the carbon footprint of the Philippines is equal to 0.8 metric tons per capita or 0.3 of one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Proclamation 1482 issued on April 10, 2008 declared the month of April as the Philippines’ Earth Month.

Earth Day is celebrated every year on the 22nd of April. The first Earth Day, conceived by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

Fifteen private and public schools were also listed to start a ‘green’ schools campaign by planting trees, setting up a plant nursery and implementing a solid waste management program.