Cura Kalikasan (Care for Nature): IPO Dam tree planting
My first seedling on IPO Dam
The Ateneo Graduate School Family planted trees last November 23 at IPO Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan. The project is a part of a series of activities for Cura Kalikasan (Care for Nature) under Prof. Rachel Consunji.
The planting area
Getting there.
Getting to Norzagaray was quick. A short cut took us from Katipunan to Novaliches in less than 15 minutes. On a regular day, that trip would have taken us about an hour.
Faculty, staff, and students boarded two mini-buses. We also had trip guides from Hands-on manila with us on the buses.
I was not quite sure what to expect since this is my first time to IPO Dam.
The boat ride to the planting area
Getting on a boat.
The planting site was about 15-minutes by boat. I was not prepared for a change in weather. The days prior to this had been extremely hot and sunny. So why would this Saturday be different?
Mother nature had something else planned. When we boarded the bancas, rain started to pour down. Blessing in disguise perhaps, because if we planted during high noon, it would have been hot and difficult to bear.
Getting past looking good and staying clean
Getting past clean.
The planting site was already muddy and slippery because of the rain. When we got there, we were sure to get dirty. The thing with the soil is that it looks dirty. But when you get past the “looking good and staying clean,” then things start to be fun and purposeful.
I started counting seedlings at first. But after my first five seedlings, then the perspective changed. It wasn’t about numbers anymore.
It was about:
- being with others
- duty to care for the environment
- water that I was drinking and yes, perhaps wasting at home
- atonement for transgressing Mother Nature
- exercise (yes!)
- being grateful that my calling was not to till the soil
- thankful for the wonderful nature I had all around but had little time to notice
- embracing the soil that would welcome me when I die
The Ateneo Tree Planting team
Getting all cleaned up.
The experience was difficult. The terrain was totally inclined. It was very difficult to navigate and stay balanced on both feet. So I crawled, slipped, cut myself until the end of the exercise.
At one point I kept slipping, almost hurting myself and others (i held on to things and people; at 200 pounds, i took everything with me everytime I fell or slipped). Then a random thought crossed my mind.
I understood my brother-in-law, Vic, who was in the mountains as a uniformed officer. If I were in his place, I would be killed. Perhaps these were the same conditions he would have navigated when he and his team went on missions in the countryside. Perhaps, the conditions were worse. In this terrain, I had none of his skills.
Overwhelmed, blessed, and grateful
Going home.
I head home humbled by nature, this time more aware about what goes into the water I drink. Although I planted more or less 30 seedlings, what I did will not change the world. My hands are too feeble to cause global warming to stop.
Perhaps if we all had opportunities for these experiences, feeble hands can combine and make a difference in this world.
I have a greater respect for the soil now. It’s because on this day, the soil provided me with personal nourishment and growth.
Although I went home dirty and soiled, there was nothing water could not wash away.
Except, perhaps, the memories and lessons from this trip.