Students & Stakeholders Shape Green Future at NBSC Forum
On February 20, 2025, a vibrant assembly of students and stakeholders convened at the NBSC Covered Court for a crucial forum focused on environmental protection and climate action. The theme of the “Ecological Guardians: Nurturing Climate Resiliency, Food Security, and Sustainable Futures” event was a platform for generating ideas and strategies to promote sustainability within the institution and the wider community.
The forum was addressed by keynote speaker Albert P. Dela Cruz, Sr., Climate Change Commissioner. Dela Cruz praised Bukidnon’s lush landscape and the Philippines’ natural resources and highlighted the urgency of the climate crisis.
“𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙖, 𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙞, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡, 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙉 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮-𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙚, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙪𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.”
The college president, Dr. Christie Jean Villanueva-Ganiera, CESE, sharing the same mission in promoting actions to combat climate change, shared a significant sustainability initiative at NBSC related to the forum’s purpose: a ban on single-use plastics starting March 1, 2025, reflecting the institution’s commitment to waste reduction and environmental responsibility, and another project related to analyzing, managing, and minimizing waste.
The forum also discussed vital topics like climate resilience, food security, and the role of youth in promoting sustainability. It provided a valuable platform for collaboration among students and stakeholders to enhance the school’s sustainability efforts. Dea Cruz further left a call for action for the participants.
“𝙈𝙜𝙖 𝙠𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙙, 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, ‘𝘽𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙮, 𝘽𝙪𝙝𝙖𝙮, 𝙆𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙝𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙣, 𝙖𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙖 𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖.” he surmised.
Commissioner Dela Cruz’s team presented NBSC with a plaque of appreciation, signifying the institution as an ambassador for climate change—the award, as Atty. Richard G. Bihasa, the Chief of Staff of the Office of Commissioner, declared that this award is only given to individuals and agencies.
“𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙚, 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨. 𝙎𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚.”, the attorney shared.
The enthusiasm demonstrated suggests a promising future for environmental protection within the NBSC community. The focus on waste management and the plastic ban indicates a proactive approach to tackling environmental challenges.
