SAVING THE LA MESA WATERSHED / MAY 17,2009 =D

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot,

With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot,

Don't it always seem to go,

That you don't know what you got till it's gone,

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot.

They took all the trees, and put 'em in a tree museum,

And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them,

No, no, don't it always seem to go,

That you don't know what you've got till it's gone,

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot.

- BIG YELLOW TAXI

Joni Mitchell / Counting Crows

(Depending on which generation you belong to =))

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Did you know that this forest paradise exists no more than a block away from the busy Commonwealth thoroughfare? That it even exists behind all the big malls that have taken over our lives?

Welcome to the La Mesa Ecopark.

I've heard about it before, but only vaguely associate it with Gina Lopez talking about saving the watershed that lies inside it for future generations. Every single time, her message would go wooshing over my head. And so I did what I suspect most of us did. NOTHING. =(

Then early this month (or was it late last month?), I had a panic attack borne by the literally burning summer heat that only let up to give way to inexplicable summer storms. Ngyah. I started thinking about Patita, Ray*-B, Siob-siob, GB, Kirstie, Alonso, Noah, Big Boy MG...and the kind of world they would grow up in, unless I did something today.

So I wrote about it. Sister Pusjing (as she is wont to do =)) started researching about tree-planting and recycling fairs, then forwarded all the links to me. Patay! Haha. (I was--*insert sheepish grin here, haha =D*--secretly hoping that I could write about it, then she will enthusiastically take over from there. Hahahahaha!!! 'D).

Anyway! O, sya. I started talking so I (as Sister Pusjing put it) must now walk my talk. Naku! =D I got in touch with Darryn who was listed as the contact person for ABS-CBN's Sagip Kalikasan. "We'd like to adopt 20 trees," I said, "how do we go about it?" In as quick as one phone call, we were able to set a date. May 17, Sunday, 10:00 a.m. WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! =D

Convincing Cousins_Plus (the official code for all cousins plus titos, titas, moms, dads, children and pets, hahaha) to join the activity was easy. In fact, most enthusiastically volunteered! We spend our Sundays eating and talking @ Eduardo's anyway, it was easy to convince everyone to change venue. =) Tree planting, then potluck picnic after. Sounded like a plan. =)

Darryn advised me in advance that they don't do tree-planting activities in summer to increase the trees' chance for survival. In its place, we can have the nursery activity instead where we will help prepare the seedlings for the next cycle of planting. Good enough. Yey! =D

The activities kicked off with a video presentation and an orientation that provided an overview of the importance of the La Mesa Watershed to the sustainability of life in Metro Manila.

As defined in the official website, the La Mesa watershed is a government property titled under the MWSS and commissioned in 1929. It straddles the boundaries of Quezon City, Caloocan City, and Municipality of Montalban and the provinces of Bulacan, and Rizal. It houses the filtration plant that distributes water to 5 cities and 32 municipalities or about 12 million residents in Metro Manila. It is also the last forest of its size in the metropolis.

Imagine that. 12 million people in Metro Manila and its neighboring municipalities depend on it for the water that they drink, the water that they use for bathing, the water that they use for washing their cars, the water that they use for cooking, etc., etc. It was originally set-up by the Americans, but neglect during the Martial Law years led to deforestation--as squatters moved in, cut down and burned the trees, consequently leading to the erosion of the soil around the watershed. In the late 1990's, a plan to put up a residential subdivision in the area served as the wake-up call for "environmental activists". If the plan had pushed through, not only would it have severely compromise the quality of the water, it would have most likely resulted in the complete denudation of the forest area around the watershed, which would have then compromised the fresh water supply of Metro Manila.

Yes, folks, we came THIS CLOSE to a water crisis, and we didn't even know. =(

In 1999, the environmentalists found an ally in the ABS-CBN Foundation. Gina Lopez took on the Saving of the La Mesa Watershed as her personal project, and things have thankfully not been the same since. (Click here to see before and after pics.) I personally admire Gina. More than being a rich kid who does good, she is a rich kid who is committed to doing good. The saving of the La Mesa Watershed did not come easy. Lives were lost as the squatters fought back. Forest rangers were raped as those who had a lot to lose if the illegal logging were stopped pulled out all stops to intimidate those who were determined to turn things around. I think of all those who gave up their lives, and I start to hope that our family's first batch of 20 adopted trees would mean that they did not give it up for naught.

Darryn welcomed us warmly. She thanked us for doing our bit, adding a bit of trivia. They sometimes solicit from corporations. On occasion, they are approached by companies who have pegged the La Mesa Watershed as their Corporate Social Responsibility project for the year. That day was the FIRST TIME EVER that they are doing this activity for a FAMILY. She was actually surprised, she said, when we told her that we are a family who decided to go tree-planting. Turning her gaze at Genius Patita and Adorable Ray*-B (GB, unfortunately, had fever on the day of the activity), she said that it was good that we brought the two pretty kids because what we're doing that day is really going to be for them. The two kids giggled themselves silly, obviously tickled pink at being referred to as pretty (haha =)). I think most of the adults choked, teary-eyed. Haha! =)

Pics follow....

Genius Patita, trying her hand at planting seedlings, armed with a really big barbecue stick. =D

Father watering the seedlings that were planted....

Adorable Ray*-B needing a little assistance from mom & dad, Bro I-gue and MomSan...=D

The seedlings (disclaimer: O, sya, sya....di lahat ito kami ang nagtanim. 20 trees nga lang eh! Haha! =D)

When you adopt 20 trees, they will also take you around the Ecopark on a guided tour. We first visited the Vermicompost facility--where they prepare the soil. They took us through the process of decaying biodegradable garbage before putting the earthworms in. 1Kg of earthworms for every 1Kg of biodegradable garbage (old veggies, dried leaves, etc.). Mother looked thoroughly interested and is probably thinking of going back another day to get herself some earthworms so she can start a backyard composting facility in House Better. See, gardening is one of Mother's major passion. You should see the garden in House Better. It is a mini-ecopark. Haha! =D

We eventually found ourselves walking through the actual park (entrance is free if you adopt a tree =)). Our guide pointed to the different varieties that have been planted since, explaining the primary and secondary benefit of each tree (for paper, bark used as medicine, etc., etc.). Everyone had a jolly, good time walking (kahit na medyo hinihingal na after a while because we are all physically pfffftttt....haha!). It was hard to imagine that the ecopark is just a stone throw away from Commonwealth Ave. The air inside was different. It was cooler. Breezier. I found myself wishing it was the same for the rest of Metro Manila.

Walking through the park is an experience. We all stopped at this tree. A Kupang. The seedlings that we planted earlier, our guide said, would grow up to be trees this sturdy and tall. And this one is not yet even a full-grown tree yet. Wow. =)

Not only did we go around the ecopark, we even climbed the 117 steps to see the actual La Mesa Dam. Unfortunately, picture taking is not allowed by the dam (although I don't know why). (The first picture in this blog post though was taken a few steps down from the top step. =))

We were too tired to walk all the way out (we left the food in the car) so we all ended up riding the electronic jeeps that takes visitors with heavy baggage (read mga kaldero at kung ano-ano pa, haha!) in and out of the park. I think the kids thought it was a theme park ride. Haha! =D

Thinking about the long trek back and the, by then, already full picnic tables, we decided to hold our picnic in another venue instead. Off to U.P.! WOOHOOOOOOO!!! =D The menu? Chicken/Pork Adobo or Tapa Binalot that Panet lovingly prepared, Sr. Pedro Lechon Manok and Mangga't Bagoong, all washed down with soda. Sarap! ^_^ For dessert/merienda (we couldn't decide, haha), we all had Dolor's Sapin-Sapin, Mary Grace Cheeseroll and Iced Saba that Lolo Fred and Tatin prepared. Good all around. Wish we had more. More, as in more space in our stomachs for the quantity of food that we still wanted to eat. HAHA! =D

We were pretty lucky because soon after we finished our meal, it started to drizzle. With that, we ended our nature-tripping-Sunday. =)

Back at Eduardo's (this time for coffee and more cheese rolls), we gave out the tree adoption papers to the rest of the fam. The adoption papers that Hubby Sweet and I got had Buster J and Barrioca's full names printed on them. Hahaha! Ngyah. =D

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Doing your bit to save the La Mesa Watershed--and consequently your bit in helping secure the future water supply of Metro Manila--is easy. Call Darryn Castillo at (632) 415-2227/924-4101 loc 4551 or email her at darryn_castillo@abs-cbn.com. With one convenient phone call, you can set everything! =D

Click on the link to see just how much it would cost to adopt a tree or protect a hectare. Get a group to do it with you, and it wouldn't even be that much.

Someone walking around the ecopark was wearing a printed shirt that can be deemed as an absolute truth:

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children.

If you think about it that way, heck, P250 per tree really isn't much so GO! =)