Bayer awards young Filipinos for their environmental projects

MANILA, Philippines - Ii’s again that time of the year when Bayer celebrates a vital part of its existence in the Philippines.

No less than President Aquino led the awarding of another batch of 12 young Filipinos chosen as the Bayer Young Environmental Envoys (BYEE) for 2010.

The project is a yearly endeavor of the Germany-based multinational pharmaceutical and research firm.

This year, Bayer awarded 12 college students from different parts of the country for having successfully completed their respective environmental projects.

Mr. Aquino’s presence marked the celebration of the 10th year of the Bayer Young Environmental Envoy program, making it the longest running youth environmental program in the country.

The Bayer Young Environmental Envoy program is a global environment education program for the youth organized by Bayer and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  

As it does every year, Bayer does a nationwide search for students with feasible and successful environmental projects.

After going through the selection process and regional finals, the students were given three months to implement their respective environmental projects.

The best four out of the 12 Bayer Young Environmental Envoys for 2010 are chosen to go to a weeklong all-expense paid study tour of Germany in November.

The trip to Germany includes site visits to different Bayer sites and more importantly, the Filipino students get to meet their counterparts from other countries.

These year’s winners are Christopher Millora of West Visayas State University, Jovic Yee of Bicol University, Maria Angelica Reyes of De La Salle Lipa and Elizabeth Valencia of West Visayas State University.

For his winning project, Millora launched the Little Ilonggo Environmental Heroes Short Story Caravan.

According to Bayer, over the past three months, the caravan visited 10 barangays in Iloilo City conveying environmental messages through story telling and puppet shows of cartoon characters he created. His winning project will vie for the global competition for the best BYEE project and will have the chance to get financial support to implement the environmental project further.

Yee, for his part, launched an environmental radio program called Radio Berde in the Bicol Region with the support of Radio Veritas. The radio program which covers various environmental topics is produced and hosted by his fellow students.

Reyes promoted environmental care to the children in Lipa, Batangas through creative artwork and designs made of wastes and other recyclable materials. Her artworks were exhibited at the Museo de Lipa and in various elementary schools in her hometown.

Valencia, a member of the Aeta tribe, launched a reforestation project in an Aeta forest reserve in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo using an indigenous balete tree specie.

These four BYEE winners will go to Germany to observe the environmentally sound practices of the country and the Bayer headquarters in Leverkusen, together with their counterparts from 17 other countries includingThailand, Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Poland, Kenya, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, South Africa, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam and Turkey.

Earlier this week, the 12 BYEEs attended a six-day Eco-Camp in San Juan, Batangas. With year 2010 declared as the International Year of Biodiversity, the Eco-Camp gave a special focus on the marine biodiversity conservation.

They were exposed to the interactive lectures on environment and sustainable development issues given by noted environmentalists and experts representing the non-governmental organizations, academe and private industries. They also conducted mangrove replanting in a marine protected areas in San Juan, Batangas.