Journey of a lifetime: Paint a mural!

Been pretty busy again this past month, so here is an update of all my going-ons!

This year the Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th Anniversary so provinces all over the Philippines have been holding events. We just had our Guimaras PC 50th Anniversary event. We joined forces with the RRCY which is a local center for children in conflict with the law. Boys come to live at the center after having too many run-ins with the law as an effort for rehabilitation. There were also some kids from local highschools who attended the event too. We (the six of us volunteers on Guimaras) gave a series of lectures on what PC is, and what it is to be a volunteer. We also talked to the kids about solid waste management and had a beach clean up followed by a mangrove planting. It was really fun!

Talking to the kids about PC and being a volunteer.

Planting mangroves with the kids and community members

Next was my CRM (coastal resource management) Planning workshop. Representatives from all of the coastal barangays in my municipality came and we discussed what CRM is and coastal zoning. The participants were broken up into groups and given maps of the coast so they could mark where the different coastal zones should go. Participation was great and the workshop was a great success! The information we gathered at the workshop will be used in creating the new CRM plan for the municipality of Jordan.

The groups marking coastal zones on their barangay maps

After the workshop I went off for a long weekend trip to Dumaguete, Negros. It was a long 5 hour bus ride (after an hour ferry ride) but I was able to visit a new province and all of the volunteers there. The are two other CRM volunteers in the region so we decided to go diving at the Apo Island Reserve, which is right by Dumaguete. The Apo Island Reserve was the second MPA (marine protected area) created in the Philippines and was established in the 70's or 80's.

So many fish and corals!

walo-walo or sea snake, very poisonous!

under the sea!

After my trip to Dumaguete, I made the long trip back to Panay Island and then to the rural province of Antique. The volunteer in the municipality of Culasi had planned an Environmental Camp for all of the high schools and needed assistance in facilitating it. Myself and two other volunteers from Bohol were there to help out with the camp. We taught kids ages 14-16 on various subjects such as population growth, plants, climate change, solid waste management, fisheries and map making. We also worked with the kids to create and paint a mural for their school.