WWF ambassadors and Pascual Lab teach kids

IT’S A CHILLY January morning but the classrooms of the General Roxas Elementary School in Quezon City are heating up, abuzz with the chitter-chatter of nearly 100 students, discussing ideas and listening to WWF-Philippines National Ambassadors Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez, plus a team of environmental educators from WWF-Philippines and Pascual Laboratories.

“Can you guys name all the vegetables in the song ‘ Bahay Kubo?’” asked Mr. Fernandez, alluding to a popular Filipino children’s song. “Regularly eating vegetables can build up your immune system and shield you from cough, colds and other sicknesses brought on by stronger typhoons,” he explained.

In the next classroom is Mr. Nelson, explaining how climate change is exacerbated by the burning of fossilfuels. “Switching to renewable energy sources like wind power and solar parks can stop global warming,” he said as the other teachers hand out climate change brochures.

The duo recently participated in WWF and Pascual Laboratories’ SEED (Sowing to Empower, Educate and Develop) Program, which aims to enhance local communities’ resilience to climate change by eliminating diseases and switching to healthier lifestyles through a proper diet, exercise, vitamins and good hygiene.

For the past five years, the program has taught thousands of elementary school students about the vital link between climate change and health. Health conditions and diseases like asthma, heatstroke, leptospirosis, typhoid fever, cholera and so forth are spurred by climate change.

“The floods caused by rains or the incessant summer heat can drive up incidences of leptospirosis or heat stroke,” explained WWF-Philippines Environmental Educator Dino Calderon, who also taught 80 students’ parents during the learning drive.

The education sessions were held recently for nearly 200 graders and parents from the General Roxas Elementary School.

“We cannot overemphasize the role of education in improving people’s lives. We are a poor country and are very vulnerable to climate change. By educating the next generation of kids, we can inculcate the right values to allow them to adapt and help stop climate change. We’ve been doing this for five years and we hope that our partnership will have an impact on the lives of our students,” said Pascual Laboratories’ Mia Pascual-Cenzon.