biodiversity

The piece below is by Efren Gerardino, who occasionally writes about the commons in the Philippines when he is not working as the plant manager of a muscovado, or soft brown sugar mill.  I met Efren via my late friend Jonathan Rowe, who periodically visited the Philippines.  It is a pleasure to hear Efren's perspectives on the commonsfromanother part of the world.

“All things bright and beautiful/ All creatures great and small/ All things wise and wonderful/ The Lord God made them all”.  These are the opening lines of a poem I learned from my Grade 3 teacher who also filled my childhood with  nature-themed music.  In the same year, I joined a Baptist Sunday School where my fondest memory is nature walks that kindled my interest on clouds, birds, bees, butterflies and wildflowers.   I guess that year was the starting point of my environmental education.

I am now involved in the review of our town’s Environment and Natural Resources Management Plan, with focus on climate change adaptation. At this stage, much of my time is spent on field reconnaissance, interview and photo-documentation.  I walked across forests and croplands and along the way I rediscovered my fascination for wildflowers.