The legendary English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday said these wise words in the 1800s. Faraday's statement perhaps reflects his views on the nature of effective education and the challenge of engaging a broader audience. He believed that true teaching involves deep engagement with complex concepts. Lectures that genuinely impart knowledge often require rigorous discussion, critical thinking, and a focus on the intricacies of a subject. Such an approach may not appeal to a general audience seeking entertainment or superficial information (or in the local parlance, "mababaw na karunungan').
Fair enough, but it is also known that Faraday initiated the Christmas Lectures in 1825, the first publicly visible attempts to communicate science to audiences who were not scientists. Faraday envisioned the Christmas lectures to be an informal affair where members of the Royal Institution have the privilege of bringing friends and family and where all may feel at ease, relieved from all formality. He was very successful at communicating scientific concepts and knowledge to a broader audience (particuarly the younger ones) and was exteremely able at persuading other scientists to do the same. He has inspired generations with the notion that communicating science to a wide audience is something fundamental for the scientific community.
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| Michael Faraday giving a Christmas Lecture in 1856. Note quite a number of young children among the listening audience. |
Fast forward to early 2025, on Day 1 (Feb 4) of the Training of Trainers on Mangrove and Beach Forest Rehabilitation and Conservation in KII Mangrove Ecopark and the Mangrove Loving Penguin (MLP) cannot help but realize that Prof. Jurgenne H. Primavera could be, in more likelihood, be one of the men and women of science who are inspired by Faraday. Will check this out with her but in any case, Prof Jurgenne (the Chief Mangrove Scientific Advisor of the ZSL) has that gift of making a lecture, laced with a lot of science, into a learning experience that is more palatable to the hoi polloi of this world. To a hoi polloi like the MLP.
Day 1 (Feb 4) of our Mangrove Training was devoted almost solely on scientific lectures. Sure there was the customary introduction of participants (where the MLP learned that he was the oldest) and the Expectation Check. There was even a welcome remarks from the good Mayor of Ibajay. A pre-test was added to establish the baseline of mangrove/beach forest stock knowledge of the participants. But by and large, Day 1 was Lecture day with a capital L. More than 6 hours of scientific lectures on Mangrove Biology & taxonomy, Beach forest biology, Mangrove nursery, Beach forest nursery, Mangrove outplanting and the like.
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| Mayor Jose Miguel Miraflores with his welcome remarks. He gave us a preview of what improvements and tourism offerings the KII Mangrove Ecopark has in store for the public in the very near future. |
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| My pre-test booklet. There were 30 questions. I am sure that I have 2 correct answers. |
Many of us participants, and we are 30 in the 16th edition, would have been bored stiff. But no we were not. Prof Jurgenne and the other ZSL Philippines operatives Rona Joy Loma, Christian Montilijao, Venus Calanda and Dax Dequito were up to the task of delivering an informative and engaging lecture on Day 1. Of special note of course is Prof Jurgenne who conducted more than 3 hours of lecture in her own folksy yet effective style.
Nothing pretentious about her lecture style as she is the real deal when it comes to being a subject matter expert in mangroves and beach forest. Trained in zoology (University of the Philippines and Indiana University and marine science (University of the Philippines) , Prof Jurgenne has published and lecured extensively on aquaculture and mangrove issues. She is a member of good standing of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). And her academic brain is matched by a heart that is truly passionate for the environment in general and the trees in particular.
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| All eyes and ears focused on the lecture of Prof Jurgenne Primavera on Day 1. |
During the lecture of Prof Jurgenne, the participants were all ears and many put pen to paper the many scientific data and practical ideas she was sharing in the lecture. In the MLP's case, I have 14 pages of notes from her lecture(s) alone on Day 1. Here are handful of them:
1. There are 75 mangrove species in the world and the Philippines has 35 to 40 species of this 75.
2. Before 1890, the Manila Bay area had 74,200 hectares of mangroves. In 2015, it is down to 1,000 hectares in 2015.
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| Photos of Nilad mangroves planted in Intramuros as well as in Baseco compound in Manila. |
3. The term "Maynilad" which refers to Manila actually comes from Nilad which is a mangrove species (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea) that was plentiful in the Manila Bay area centuries ago but now in present day, can rarely be found in Metro Manila. There are a few planted in the outskirt of Intramuros.
4. Not all mangroves are created equal. There are mangrove species like the Pagatpat (Sonneratia alba) and Bungalon (Avincennia marina) that are best suited for the seafront and there are mangrove species like the Bakawan Babae (Rhizophora mucronata).
5. Given item no. 4, the mangrove planting activities of some companies and LGUs are faulty. Take the example of the Guiness Book of World record stint of the El Verde Movement led by then Cam Sur Governor LRay Villafuerte in planting 1 million mangroves in a coastal area in Ragay town last March 2012. A handful years later, survey of the survival rate of these 1 million mangroves is very low. Main reason, wrong mangrove species planted. Almost all the 1 million mangroves planted were bakawans. Such a waste of money and effort and all because of the wrong reason. The 1M mangroves campaign was primarily for a new Guinness Record and secondarily for the environment.
6. Scientific study show that the optimal mangrove - fishpond ratio is 4 hectares of mangroves and 1 hectare of fishpond.
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| Research data showing that optimal mangrove-pond ratio is 4:1. |
7. Green-Gray Engineering can be a success. ZSL-Philippines working in collaboration with a People's Organization and AMH Engineering are successful in deploying a Green-Gray Engineering solution in Ajuy, Iloilo. Contrast this to a similar Green-Gray initiative in Concepcion, Iloilo by Bechtel Corporation and Conservation International which proved to be unsuccessful. Inquired as to what could be the key difference as to why Ajuy was a success and Concepcion not a success in terms of Green-Gray Engineering deployment, Prof Jurgenne pointed out that there seems to be lack of in-depht scientific research by the latter while the former had a ton of research.
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| Green-Gray Engineering deployed in Ajuy, Iloilo |
The 7th item points to a candid yet all-important sharing by Prof Jurgenne: many of the initiatives these days to ostensibly help the environment and community in this climate changed world have a lot of development but poor in research. The two, RESEARCH and DEVELOPMENT, must go in hand to have more success.
Certainly, much knowledge gained and still to be gained from the lectures of Prof Jurgenne and her hard working ZSL team. Day 1 (Feb 4) was a success for MLP and the other participants. Dont just take my notes and words as gospel truth. Such truth can be gleamed from the Daily Evaluation for Day 1. All are right on target. Bulls eye.
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| Daily Evaluation for Day 1 |
A lot of learning and a lot of fun on Day 1.
And the fun will not be complete without the synergy I have with my table mates in Table 7. It is a motley crew but oozing with enthusiasm. We in Table 7 have the resident energizer bunny in ZLS-Philippines in Cesar Tabada, a Leyte-based ZSL person who claims that it is his first time to attend this kind of a training on mangroves and beach forest. We also have the tandem from Romblon, Joevely Falible and Norwood Falculan, who both work in the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) of the said MIMAROPA province. And Cyra Mae Soreda, a Biology professor of Sorsogon State University, who the MLP has had some online interaction a year back when I was writing a blog acrticle on the mangroves of Rompeolas in Sorsogon City.
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| Team Sungay in the house: Norwood, Cyra Mae, Joevely, MLP and Cesar |
With our bunch in Table 7, which we call Team Sungay, collective learning is both entertaining and teaching.
Dios mabalos.
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