We called them the Incredible Greenies because they were incredibly energetic and took on their roles as guardians of the environment faster than you can say “El Nido Resorts”!
On October 27 -30, eight enthusiastic teens learned how to Be GREEN (Guard, Respect, Educate El Nido) in the best island in the world! They became El Nido Resorts’ first ever Be GREEN Youth Campers, experiencing in-their-face biodiversity while having fun and making new friends.
Everyone welcomed the treat of being away from the city for three days, kayaking, climbing 250 million-year old limestone cliffs, watching out for sea turtles surfacing to breathe, and learning tons of new stuff!
They learned the basics of photography from Mr. Harvey Tapan, who then took them on a field demo to take snapshots in the Big Lagoon and on Snake Island!
Ms. Rima de Dios, a professional snorkeling organizer, introduced them to El Nido’s colorful marine life. Not only did they find Nemo, but Dory, too, as well as many other fishies.
In-house Sea Scouts Edwin Arzaga and Reylan Torrico showed the basic skills for outdoor survival cast-away style. They learned the basics of knot tying and even got to make their own paracord bracelets that they can use if ever they get caught deserted in an island.
Taking their role of environmental stewards seriously, our Incredible Greenies also made the Earth a lot happier because of Coastal Cleanup. Hard to understand why humans would want to dump trash into that beautiful ocean!
And because Mother Nature was so pleased with the Greenies’ display of nature love, they were treated to one of her surprises! Green Sea turtle hatchlings, 37 in all, crawled out of the sand, calling out to be released into the sea. Before removing the cage that protected the hatchlings from monitor lizards, the Environmental Officers shared their passion for the conservation of endangered sea turtles. The campers learned about the threats sea turtles face, especially pollution. Right then and there, the Greenies vowed to help keep the oceans clean and healthy.
Keeping El Nido Resorts a green resort means making sure we serve only the freshest and most natural ingredients. The Greenies trekked to our nature farm and joined our Farm Manager Henry Gonzales as he made soil from a combination of compost, rice hull, and worm poo. They also helped our farm staff transplant lettuce and harvest that day’s produce!
Back at Miniloc, Chef Boyet magically put together their harvest and got them to agree that green IS yum!
Finally, at the end of their three camping days, our Campers realized they didn’t miss their electronic gadgets at all. In fact, they won’t mind being away from them longer if it meant more green fun. Big yahoo from Nature to our Incredible Greenies!
If you care about the environment and want to explore the best island in the world, this camp is definitely for you! Make heaps of new friends and kindle your interest in nature. Trust us, being G.R.E.E.N is awesome!
To join our next Be G.R.E.E.N. Youth Camp, get in touch with us!
Elaine is anywhere. She started her career as a Tourism Officer for the Provincial Government of Isabela where she handled community-based projects in the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. In 2013, she joined Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and served as an Ecotourism Advisor in Samar. Her restless feet and heart took her to Africa, volunteering for an ecotourism project in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe where she acquired a global perspective of tourism and development. Elaine has a degree in Tourism with a Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She is currently the Environmental Officer of Miniloc Island Resort advocating for sustainable tourism and envisions a world full of responsible travelers. Indeed, Elaine is anywhere- doing what she loves and what is right.
What do you think?