I was lucky to be part of the AESS (stands for Ateneo Environmental Science Society) Mission Transition overnight camp on February 14-15, 2015. The whole idea is how us participants can think of ways to make Sustainability not just a Fad but the Standard or how we can make people think Sustainability in all their actions.

The camp objectives were:

To build a community of proactive members geared towards a sustainable lifestyle

To develop leaders whose actions are grounded on logical environmentalism

To create an avenue for individuals to develop their skills and knowledge in line with the organization's different advocacies

We spent all morning travelling to Masasa Beach in Tingloy Island, Batangas Province, which is a trip by land and by boat.  I have never been to the island even if our family is from Batangas Province, so it was also exciting for me as a person returning to my roots.

We did our activities as soon as we got to the island. We started with some team building. Then did our version of a hydroponics project using a plastic popcorn container.

We had an Amazing Race activity and exploration of the island. I did see a lot of trash on the shoreline. This made me think that even in the most remote areas, there is still a lot of anthropogenic pollution or pollution that is caused by human activity or created by people, which makes it a threat to the environment.

We had a speaker on the use of electronics like cellphones and batteries.  The idea was to have a law wherein a person buys the right to use electronics.  But once they break, you give them back to the company to be smelted so less minerals and metals are used.  That was an interesting idea since our generation is so hooked on communications and this would make it a more sustainable use of the equipment through recycling and less damage to the environment.

During the camp we slept in open cottages and had no electricity at night. Great way to spend the weekend.