Campaigns

Heroes of the Environment Communication Campaign (Philippines)

CTI-SEA’s Heroes of the Environment (Bayani ng Kalikasan) campaign educates, inspires, and engages students and teachers in remote coastal communities to protect the Coral Triangle. It is being conducted in partnership with 17 public high schools in the Philippines, the local government, the Department of Education, and the Protected Area Management Board.

The campaign also supports the Lima Ministerial Declaration on Education and Awareness-raising which reaffirmed the importance of youth education, participation, and access to  knowledge to combat climate change and adapt to its impacts.

Youth camp participants from six public high schools in Balabac, Palawan give a thumbs up sign at the end of the Heroes of the Environment Youth Camp.

Goals

The communication campaign has three goals:

1. Mobilize the youth by letting them lead climate change adaptation projects in their school or community;
2. Support underprivileged students so they can access and co-create knowledge on climate change adaptation and coastal resource management; and
3. Promote long-term behavior change through awareness raising and learning by doing activities.

Students from Central Taytay National High School proudly show their mangrove reforestation project in Sitio Quilala. As of 2016, students, teachers, and other volunteers have planted 14,500 propagules in 4 hectares of denuded forests in Sitio Quilala, Barngay Poblacion.

Needs Addressed

• Low  awareness of communities about the Coral Triangle, climate change adaptation, coastal resource management, and fisheries laws/policies;
• Lack of a communication strategy that could guide youth engagement efforts in project sites; and
• Global/national call for the inclusion of climate change issues and environmental protection topics in the school curriculum (e.g. through holding campaigns and other public awareness programs).

CTI-SEA Deputy Team Leader Raul Roldan shows students from Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur the unique features of each mangrove species during the field trip.

Locations and School Projects

Since 2014, CTI-SEA has been conducting the Heroes of the Environment campaign in selected municipalities in four sites in the Philippines. School and community based projects are being carried out in the following areas:

• Taytay, Palawan
• Balabac, Palawan
• Dumanquillas Bay (Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur)

The coastal and marine resources in each of these sites are threatened by the impacts of climate change and other destructive activities (e.g. illegal fishing practices, improper solid waste management, mangrove cutting, etc.). CTI-SEA is conducting other complementary sub projects in these areas to address these issues together with local partners.

A student from Mangsee Island in Balabac shares the results of their transect mapping to the group. The community’s problem is improper solid waste management so they proposed a project to address it.

Campaign Activities

• 3-day Youth camp on climate change adaptation and coastal resource management
• Launch of projects during Coral Triangle Day
• Project implementation
• Monitoring and coaching
• Evaluation
• Development of knowledge products
• Recognition rites

Students from far-flung high schools in Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay bond during playtime in Dumanquillas Bay. Group games and nature explorations help students discover themselves and value the environment. 

Other Activities

• Our Seas (“Dagat Natin”) story writing contest
• Publication of Tales from the Coral Triangle story book
• Teacher’s camp (In-service training)
• Scaling-up activities for selected schools (provision of seed fund for sustainable financing)