Nature, Travel and Me: A Tribute to Mother Nature

What can you possibly do to pay tribute for our struggling mother nature? Even in our simplest way we can give in return for the richness and abundance that nature gives to mankind. A very active, responsible individual made this possible; they called themselves as ELITE (Extreme Liberty Intellectual Transparency Endurance) Mountaineering Society, Inc.

Extroverts, diverse and very distinctive personalities with a common interest were the birth of ELITE. This is composed of different mountaineering clubs namely: Peak Settlers, Kalit-Kalit, Way Tiil, Angels, Ambac, Tres Eco Team, Sierra Sugbo and Alimatoc. ELITE was launched last Dec. 17, 2005 in Moalboal Cebu.

Sunday morning, November 22 of 2009 wherein the weather wasn’t good that much but rain showers doesn’t discourage ELITE’s interest. They made such an enormous contribution to mother nature on that very day “Mangrove Planting” heated up in Binlod, Argao, Cebu. This was in cooperation with the Binlod Barangay officials and from CCEF (Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation) with special participation of Sun Star Cebu and Umod Mountaineering & Outdoor Club, Inc. CCEF works for the conservation and wise management of coastal and marine environments to sustain biodiversity and improve the quality of life for the local communities which depend on those resources. The DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) provides us the mangrove seedlings.

Mangroves generally are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. They grow in loose, wet soils, salt water, and are periodically submerged by tidal flows. They aren’t only playing multiple ecological functions essential to its surrounding habitats, but also play as an important resource for coastal communities. These also provide one of the basic food chain resources for marine organisms like for example their falling leaves where bacteria and fungus decompose these leaves – these leaves form the base of the food chain. The mixture of decaying plant material, soil, water, fungus and bacteria makes up detritus which provides food for marine organisms.

Mangroves provide physical habitat and nursery grounds for a wide variety of marine organisms and serves as a storm buffer by reducing wind and wave action in shallow shoreline areas. They trap and cycle various organic materials, chemical elements, and important nutrients in the coastal eco-system.

Their distribution throughout the world is affected by climate, salinity of the water, fluctuation of the tides, type of soil in the area and more recently, by development of tidal wetlands for residential as well as industrial uses, such as shrimp farms. Mangroves are one of the mainstream reinforcement in conserving our eco-system.

Everyone was fully participated in this activity. Though it was tiring but at the same time it was fun, as if never felt the heat under the sun as long as they made it for a cause and its worth it. About 1,100 mangrove seedlings poured out in the muddy shore. Planting is not really a joke believe it, it’s really true. Those seedlings will play an important role in the coming days to sustain the balance of our ecosystem.