Freshmen Nurture their Earth Connection

Ecophilosopher Wendel Berry once said that if we do not know where we come from, we do not know who we are. Much of the world’s problem today has something to do with fragmentation, disharmony and division – a reflection of our loss of connection to ourselves, other, God and the Earth. Such situation needs another way of looking at the world, a paradigm shift that will transform deep-seated worldviews and philosophies that endangers the Earth’s existence. UNESCO affirmed this when the organization observed that people today have a dizzying feeling of being torn between a globalization whose manifestations they can see and sometimes have to endure, and their search for roots, reference points and sense of belonging:

Education has to face up to this problem now more than ever as a world society struggles painfully to be born: education is at the heart of both personal and community development; its mission is to enable each of us, without exception, to develop all our talents to the full and to realize our creative potential, including responsibility for our own lives and achievement of our personal aims. (The Treasure Within, Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century).Freshmen students, through the Paulinian Advocacy for Civic Engagement and Services (PACES)of the CollegeFreshmen Program immersed themselves to the educational and sustainable eco-activities of the CaBioKid community, a permaculture development located in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, which serves as an integrated farm designed and managed in accordance with sustainable development ethics and principles. Here, the students were taught how to see the world in another perspective – that of interconnectedness, harmony, compassion, gratitude, love and caring. They were able to see not just a collection of different species but a community, which means that all members all depend on one another. They are all interconnected in a vast network of relationships called the web of life. When students were asked to walked barefooted, everybody was hesitant because the land is ‘dirty.’ There is disconnection to the land and their sense of place influence by urban materialism and consumeristic lifestyle. Sensing and appreciating the color, shapes, texture, and smell of the land are learning in the real world at its best. Students felt the fun, reclaiming the inner child within who search for patterns and meaning. Through these activities, students become ecologically literate and thus able to contribute to building a sustainable future. That is why PACES was designed to meet the needs of educators and students to intensify classroom integration with other mainstream operations of the University like research, environmental advocacy and community services. As a service-learning program of the College Freshmen Program, this is an educational approach in which the learner is directly in touch with the realities being studies rather than simply reading, hearing or talking about these realities. Moreover, the PACES Program as service-learning is a teaching method that enables students to learn and apply academic, social and personal skills to improve the community, continue individual growth and develop a lifelong ethic of service. The Program focuses on both the service and the learning and is appropriate for all students and all curricular areas. It encourages crosscurricular integration yet provides students with structured time to reflect on the service experience and civic responsibility. The educational tour to CaBioKid integrates Philippine History (historical roots of contemporary problems), Malikhaing Pagsulat (Filipino class) and Paulthenics. Advantages of the PACES service-learning program include the opportunity to enhance understanding of course content, enhance the environmental advocacy of the University, explore career options, broaden one’s knowledge of the community, and do community services for others. The advocacy and independent practice components of the instructional guide may be done in the PACES program where learners are engaged in a certain discourse, share their experiences, ask questions, hone their analytical/critical skills, reconstruct their prior experiences, develop new perspectives and integrate prior knowledge with new knowledge. Eco-activities include vermiculture, planting of native trees, gardening, recycling, composting, mud bricks making, gathering of seedlings, meditation and reflection. During the sessions, students were given inputs on the ecological, economic, social, historical and philosophical dimension of the ecological debate. Basic ecological principles were re-instated and reaffirmed: Everything is connected to everything else; everything must go somewhere; someone must pay the cost of negligence; man cannot exist without nature. Students were made to reflect on these eco-principles where the survival of humanity depends on their ability to understand these principles of ecology and live accordingly. Some significant insights of the students include the campaign against destructive environmental practices; suggested the use of organic materials instead of synthetic substances; promotion of healthy lifestyle in school and at home; change of wrong habits when disposing wastes and seek out organizations that promote healthy and environmental-friendly lifestyles. Indeed, their ecological consciousness expanded with that meaningful, hands-on experience of sensing and touching the Earth. As SPUQC shares its responsibility to the present and future well-being of humanity, may it continue to be more creative, committed and joyful in the celebration of life. The Earth is our common home, and creating a sustainable world for our children and future generations is our common task.

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