From October 15th to 17th, I attended the 12th International Conference and Scientific Meeting organized by the Philippine Network of Educators on Environment (PNEE), in Puerto Princesa.
The aim of this conference was “Strengthening the power of environmental education through innovative pedagogy to practice models”.
On the first day, a reminder of the history of environmental education (EE) in the Philippines was presented. Then followed several interventions about the link between EE and mathematics, law, health, geography or agriculture. Later on, various members of the PNEE talked about the “dark green schools” system which promotes universities aspiring to reduce their own ecological impact.
In parallel, posters were presented on various topics such as the bacteriological assessment of El Nido Bay, sweet corn cultivation, herpetofauna diversity assessment in Nueva Ecija, the management of medical waste in Puerto Princesa, the presence of micro-plastics in oysters, or collaborative and participative pedagogy.
The second day was dedicated to presentations about the 17 goals of sustainable development. The last day was reserved for the visit of different emblematic places of Puerto Princesa.
This conference allowed me to have new insights on how to include EE in a school curriculum and to share ideas about this with teachers. It was also an opportunity to meet representatives of universities that are striving to become greener, which will inspire me to help the Holy Trinity University (HTU) move towards a more sustainable path.
