Caring for the Environment:
A Girl Scout's Story

By ‘A’la’ Munireh D. Laurico

The author, 'A'la' Munireh, with fellow Girl Scouts

ustainable development efforts have long recognized that girl scouts play a significant role in promoting good environmental practices and ethics. As a girl scout, I must accept the implied challenge. After all, I am part of a movement that is essentially a social institution, and subscribes to the tenet that environmental protection is a responsibility shared by all social institutions.

            I saw for myself what that responsibility might entail when I joined the Chief Girl Scout Medal Scheme in 1999. It was not easy. Every day that I worked on my project – which I called “Reforestation/Coastal Resource Management” – presented new challenges that, however, only served to spur me on.

            My first challenge was choosing a site from among four villages that had been recommended to me by my troop leader and adviser. These villages were Ibingay, Maingaran, and Tugbo, all in Masbate City, and Balatucan in the nearby town of Mobo. To make an informed choice, I surveyed the sites using questionnaires designed to assess their needs. I was eager to start my project in whichever site proved most suitable, but delays were inevitable. The data I needed, or the person who could provide them, was not always readily available.

            The survey took almost the whole month of August 1999. On August 27, after much consideration, I decided to launch my project at the portion of Umabay River in Balatucan, where I felt the local leadership was most responsive, and the need was greatest. Opportunities for economic growth in this village have been nearly canceled out by deforestation, mine tailings, pollution, coral reef destruction, pesticide poisoning, soil erosion, and many other environmental problems. Environmental monitoring and regulation, meanwhile, have been hampered by lack of funding and political support.

            The site of my project used to be a fish sanctuary before massive erosion of the riverbank and the illegal cutting of trees destroyed it. Despite its economic and ecological importance (fishers collect about 3,000 pieces of prawn fry in the area every day, which added to their income from fishing), and despite efforts by village officials to get assistance for its restoration, the site was left in decline by the concerned agency.

The project site

            I visited the site on September 10. It was not a pretty sight: the river was very dirty and the riverbank was badly damaged because of soil erosion. Upon the advice of my troop leader, I decided to focus on environmental awareness and coastal resource management, specifically the planting of mangrove propagules near and at the mouth of the river, and mahogany seedlings along the riverbank. After choosing a work group from among fellow girl scouts and conferring with them, the real work began. We coordinated with the mayor of Mobo, the village chief of Balatucan, and the community leader to get their approval and endorsement. I was fortunate that my sense of the local leadership’s responsiveness was correct. The community leader proved very supportive, personally meeting with the residents to enjoin them to cooperate and help me implement the project.

            And, indeed, everyone helped.

            On December 11, in preparation for planting, I started gathering mahogany seedlings and looked for a good source of mangrove propagules. On January 8, 2000, with help from my parents and friends, I transported the seedlings and propagules to the site. The community and their leader were already waiting for us; in fact, they had started clearing the area. At that meeting, I was given the opportunity to speak to the community, and I appealed to them for help and cooperation. By day’s end, we planted 50 mahogany seedlings and 150 mangrove propagules.

Children watch as ‘A’la’ and friend plant a mahogany seedling

            Two weeks later, on January 22, I visited the site again to see how the new plants fared. To my dismay, I discovered that about 15% of the mangroves had been uprooted and destroyed by children. The next week, the mortality was even higher. I reported the matter to the community leader.

            On February 26, upon the recommendation of one of my advisers, I planted 25 more mahogany seedlings and an additional 150 mangrove propagules.

            On April 8, I met with the residents at my project site and spoke to them about the importance of coastal resource management and, in particular, mangroves. We showed them a video about zero waste management and green technology, which they seemed to appreciate. At the end of the meeting, they told me they hoped to have similar meetings that added to their knowledge.

            On April 18, a Holy Monday, my troop leader and I visited the site yet another time. We spoke to the residents living nearby and requested them to water the mahogany seedlings and to continue cleaning the project site.

            On May 27, on another one of my site visits, I was heartened to see that the mangrove propagules already had leaves, and that the survival rate had increased to 95%. More importantly, I observed a higher level of awareness among the residents of the need to maintain cleanliness in their area.

            A week later, upon learning that regional evaluators would visit my site on June 12, we constructed a marker at the project site. The marker was meant to inform people about the project and its significance.

            The following week, I was told that the final evaluation had been reset, so I decided to plant another 150 mangrove propagules and 25 mahogany seedlings. The community helped me, and five days later, we put up a billboard donated by San Miguel Corporation. Now it was even easier for people to notice that there was an effort to rehabilitate Umabay River through waste management, reforestation and mangrove rehabilitation.

            Finally, it was the day of the final evaluation. The day started early, and they evaluated my project first! To my relief, the judges asked me only a few questions, and concentrated instead on giving me suggestions on how to improve my project. I was a bit disappointed that they did not seem to notice the 100 mahogany seedlings we planted along the riverbank because they proceeded immediately to the mouth of the river to check the mangrove plantation. Even so, I was happy with my effort. It was only a small, first step, but I know it made a difference, and the biggest difference was that it opened the eyes of the community to their role in the protection of the environment, and that they can make their area cleaner, greener and a better place in which to live.

            In no time at all, it seemed, it was time to turn over the project to the community. I organized a simple turnover ceremony and handed out certificates in recognition of all those who helped me carry out the project.

            All told, I worked on the project for almost one year, from July 17, 1999, when I started looking for a site for my project, to June 26, 2000, when I turned over the project to the community.  During this time, with the community’s help, I planted 450 mangrove propagules and 100 mahogany seedlings, with the mangroves achieving a survival rate of about 90%.

            Many years from now, the trees, along with my mementoes of the project – the local leaders’ and residents’, my newfound friends’, unsolicited letters signifying their appreciation for the work we had accomplished together – will remind me of my quest for excellence, and the good it had given me and one community.

             From the time I became active in the scouting movement, I had aspired for the Chief Girl Scout Medal, the highest award given to senior girl scouts. Having experienced receiving badges for hurdling the scouting movement’s eight-point challenge and rendering camping and community service, I took the Chief Girl Scout Medal’s greater challenge of understanding and helping communities, and realizing my dreams with courage, discipline, perseverance and industry.

            In the end, however, I was rewarded not only with the Chief Girl Scout Medal, but the knowledge that I have served one community in a small but truly meaningful way. I shall forever look to the experience for inspiration as I begin to face much greater challenges in my adult life.

A’la’ Munireh Laurico is a senior girl scout belonging to the Masbate Chapter of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP). Encouraged by her mother, she joined the I Love the Ocean Movement in 1998. Her involvement in the Movement sparked her interest in environmental protection, particularly coastal and marine management. Thus, when the opportunity to vie for the Chief Girl Scout Medal Scheme came in 1999, she opted to make her mark by taking on a reforestation and mangrove rehabilitation project. The project earned for her the Chief Girl Scout Medal, the highest honor that girl scouts can aspire for.           

This article is based on ‘A’la’s logbook, which chronicles her quest for the Chief Girl Scout Medal.

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