In honor of Earth Day 2006, I made this feature article about an environmentally-oriented fair at National Ecology Center mini-park in Quezon City. I would have loved to stay and listen to their organic rice-wine making seminar but I still had duty that day. Anyway, I did manage to taste tahong (seafood) flavored chips from the eco-fair and they were excellent.    

Here’s the original text of my feature article:

Green Haven in QC

http://news.inq7.net/metro/index.php?index=1&story_id=73845

By Jocelyn P. Dimaculangan

Picnickers and nature trippers now have another venue to add to their growing list of green havens in Quezon City. The National Ecology Center (NEC) in front of the Philippine Heart Center along East Avenue, Quezon City, boasts of a 4.5-hectare mini-park that is open to the public every day of the week free of charge.

The mini-park was officially inaugurated in June 4, 2004 and offers tree-lined walkways and picnic groves for families and couples who want to commune with nature amidst the hustle and bustle of city life. What used to be a site for informal settlers has now become a haven for indigenous and endemic species of trees such as yakal, kamagong, narra and katmon.

Visitors can come in for free and follow the eco-trail weaving in and out of the NEC mini-park, find shelter under the majestic canopy of the numerous trees in the area or take a short rest in the airy gazebo located in the compound.

With the absence of entrance fees, the NEC mini-park is maintained by the Urban Forestry Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region (DENR-NCR). To date, only 1.5 hectares of the mini-park has been developed while the remaining 3 hectares have yet to undergo renovation.

“We plan to put up an aviary in the area…as well as build offices for the Environmental Management Bureau and the DENR-NCR,” says Division Chief Carlos Gubat I, when asked about the future plans for the NEC compound.

Established under Republic Act No. 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000), the NEC is tasked to provide consulting, information, training and networking services for the implementation of the provisions of R.A. 9003. Aside from the mini-park, the NEC compound also houses the training facilities of the Zero Waste Recycling Movement of the Philippines Foundation, Incorporated (ZWRMPFI), a non-government organization specializing in training, advocacy and consultancy for solid waste management.

Being one of the green havens of Quezon City, the NEC has been tapped as one of the venues for the simultaneous celebrations of Earth Day 2006. A two-day fair dubbed as “Samu’t Sari 2006 (An Eco-Market for Eco-Friendly Products)” was recently concluded at NEC but plans are underway to open another two-day eco-fair on April 28- 29, 2006.

Sponsored by the Alternative LyfStyle Mktg & Consultancy (AlterMktg) and ZWRMPFI, the environmentally-oriented fair showcases 30 exhibitors offering organic produce, health products and indigenous items that are proudly Philippine-made. Pinoy inventors also took centerstage as they showed off their green technologies specially designed to help Mother Nature.

Another highlight of the two-day Earth Day celebration was the book launching of a manual for non-government organizations and local government units looking for a comprehensive guide to solid waste management. Entitled “Ecological Solid Waste Management – Theory and Practices,” the book can be bought for P300 for the duration of the eco-fair.

Now on its third year of exhibiting at NEC, the eco-fair’s theme for 2006 is “Science & Technology in harmony with the environment.” Visitors can view the exhibits from

6 a.m. – 6 p.m.

on April 28 – 29 as well as attend the free eco-livelihood demonstrations on soap making, virgin coconut oil making and organic rice wine making, among others.

An interesting stall to visit is the Mother Earth Hydroponics booth which showcases plants grown hydroponically or grown in a soil-less medium. Using a Nutrient Film Technique, this soil-less and pesticide-free farming technology can produce vegetables that grow at a much-faster rate compared with those planted in soil.

Yet another green technology being promoted in Samu’t Sari 2006 is the use of vermicomposting or the production of organic fertilizer using earthworms, specifically African nightcrawlers.

With earth-friendly activities such as these, the organizers of Samu’t Sari are optimistic that communing with nature and the use of green technologies become a habit among Filipinos that will continue long after the fanfare of Earth Day celebration has died down.