Students from the Philippines and Indonesia won the Bayer Young Environmental Leaders award in Luverkusen, Germany on October 20, 2011 along with the other two young student environmentalists from around the world.

Mary Jade Gabanes, a 19-year-old BS Special education student from the Philippines won the said award for initiating a project focusing on environmental education of special-needs children. She organized art therapies, literary-musical variety show entitled "I Am Special" and photo exhibition to promote environmental activism to mall patrons.

Another winner is Sarah Ervinda Rudianto from Indonesia. She invented a small bioreactor that can easily be used in every household for cooking. Her project was based on research into the potency of gas generated by the decomposition of organic waste. Sarah belives that through her bioreactor, the farm and household wastes in Kidang Pananjung villagecan be processed and used as renewable energy in the said village.

United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and global company Bayer will give project support to Mary Jade Gabanes, Sarah Ervinda Rudianto  and the other two winners from Kenya and Ecuador.



-Cris Raymund Viray, Philippines
Tunza-Ecogeneration Ambassador for South East Asia

Photo credit to Bayer:
From left: Bryan Coll of UNEP, Muli of Kenya, Mary Jade Gabanes of the Philippines, Maria Rosa Reyes Acosta of Ecuador, Sarah Ervinda Rudianto of Indonesia and Michael Preuss, head of Corporate Policy and Media Relations, Bayer AG Communications