Children join Earth Hour celebration in Legazpi City

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The children of Legazpi City were represented during the city’s annual Earth Hour celebration on Saturday evening, March 25.

Selected pupils from the Albay Central School participated in the festivities in front of Legazpi City Hall, in a performance that was a call to the public to help protect the seas and forests to lessen our carbon footprint.

One of the kids who participated was Grade 3 pupil Maria Dhesny Aycocho, 9. For her, observing Earth Hour means protecting the seas and observing proper waste segregation. 

“The ocean’s color is normally blue, but turned black because of garbage. Our seas should be free from garbage so that the fish we are eating are healthy and free from chemicals. In this way we’re protecting the earth,” she said when asked about her understanding about Earth Hour.

Aycocho said that oceans should be garbage-free, so the public must segregate waste – meaning, she said, to dispose it properly so it might not end up in rivers and seas.

For the next generation

City Mayor Noel Rosal, who led the celebrations, said that the city government believes protecting the earth through good environmental practices translates to protecting succeeding generations.

“Yearly, we’re observing Earth Hour because the city government believes this project will contribute to lessen our carbon footprint. We really need to protect our mother Earth for our children’s children. Conservation of our natural resources and limiting our carbon footprints is a gift to our upcoming generations,” Rosal said.

Rep. Alfredo “Pido” Garbin of Ako Bicol Party List was also present in the event, held in partnership with the local Environment and Natural Resources office.

The city government switched off lights in the building from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

“Let us practice reduction of our carbon footprint and power consumption everyday by relentlessly supporting this campaign. In this way, you can be part of the solution,” Rosal said.

Earth Hour is a yearly worldwide celebration organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), aiming to awaken public and global awareness about climate change and global warming. – Rappler.com