[NEWS] The Green Road Towards Laudato Si’

By: Josef James Rey Cruz

AASA Echoes The Green Road Towards Laudato Si’

As the third year of the Ateneo’s journey towards becoming a Laudato Si’ University begins, various student and administration-led organizations alike, take their stance to promote environmental sustainability as a part of the University’s advocacy for internal ecology.

The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is an initiative by Pope Francis, calling for people worldwide to create concrete solutions for the ever-growing ecological problems that our planet is facing. The Ateneo de Manila University is currently committed to this call to action by prioritizing integral ecology through “the pursuit of carbon neutrality by 2030; and the continued effort to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.” [Cagsawa & De Leon, 2023]

 Environmental student organization Ateneo Environmental Science Society (AESS) partnered  with the World Wildlife Fund-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) for the AESS-WWF Panda Club program. The project was launched to instill in students the skills to create and communicate solutions for the climate crisis. Last March 6th, the organization kicked things off with their first session entitled “Enviro-Talk 1: Our Place in a Warming World” as an orientation-esque talk detailing the current state of the environment and how to effectively contribute possible solutions to the crises it experiences. This collaboration is currently ongoing as of writing, as more Enviro-Talks are planned in the future.

 Furthermore, the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability (AIS) partnered with student-led orgs Management Engineering Association (MEA) and Blue Mobility, along with other off-campus organizations for their annual Refill Revolution project entitled “ReFair.” The project, running through March 11-13, emphasized recycling, setting up different stalls where one can donate their collected wastes such as pre-loved clothes and even e-waste to be recycled by the different participating orgs. Sustainable transportation is also one of ReFair’s advocacies, with Blue Mobility providing bikes that students can freely use to bike around campus.

Loyola Mountaineers, along with Ateneo BOx, embarked on a nature walk named “Everything Up There” in collaboration with the latter’s “Into The Wild” project. The nature walk was conducted from March 19-20, and immersed the participants in the rich biodiversity that the Ateneo campus has to offer. Throughout the exploration, the significance of the “Leave No Trace” principles in hiking; proper preparation and planning, as well as respecting and preserving nature, was highlighted. The project was done as a part of their Mountain Awareness Week.

As the concrete jungles of the cities continue to expand, it is imperative that we take care of the green jungles and its inhabitants that silently keep us alive. The student body’s actions to keep the environment safe and sound truly upholds the advocacy of internal ecology that the calling of Laudato Si’ entails. It is with great hope and faith that these actions, no matter how small they are, be it made by students or faculty alike, would propel the advocacy further, and hopefully turn our beautiful blue university greener than before.

Written by Josef James Rey Cruz

Sources:

[1] Azra Cagsawa and Derreck De Leon. “ADMU commits to becoming Laudato Si’ university by 2029”

https://theguidon.com/…/admu-commits-to-becoming…

[2] Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. “Laudato Si’ Action Platform.” https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/ 

[3] Ateneo Environmental Science Society. “Enviro-Talk 1: Our Place in a Warming World” 

https://www.facebook.com/AteneoESS/posts/pfbid02demp5qpvBK2eU1vSgrjme2MUWNjmj1Np7ZGZjDb6bdzC6dhacg3SoTCawKKQwRrtl

[4] Ateneo Institute of Sustainability. “Repair, Refill, Rethink– Recover! ♻️…” 

https://www.facebook.com/ADMU.AIS/posts/pfbid02Se1A4SP89HckKZWzib88ARVkR2fUMJFfgMqqeUYzzGXM5jWBAzmcCtVzwQyapKUel

[5] Derreck De Leon, et al. “Ateneo admin, student organizations spearhead greener initiatives in second year of Laudato Si’” 

https://theguidon.com/…/ateneo-admin-student…

[6] Ateneo Institute of Sustainability. “SustainaBOx: AIS collaborates with Ateneo Biological Organization (BOx) for Nutrition Month” 

https://www.ateneo.edu/…/sustainabox-ais-collaborates…

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