UPOU to Host 11th National Conference of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature

The UP Open University will be the venue for the 11^th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature (PSSN) to be held on May 24-28, 2011. The Faculty of Management and Development Studies of the UPOU will lead this event. The theme of this year’s conference is "Scientific and Technological Innovations for Environmental and Disaster Management." 

This year's conference will feature scientific researches on science and technology in/for natural resources conservation, environmental education, nature and governance, upland environment, socio-cultural perspectives on the environment, climate change adaptation, and other nature studies.
To encourage more outstanding scientific studies on nature, there will be a competition for the Best Oral and Poster Paper Award. There will be 6 categories for the Best Paper Award: Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Integrative Studies, Best Undergraduate Thesis, and Best High School Scientific Paper. Best paper award and cash prize will be awarded to the winners as well as Certificates of Recognition to all finalists. Finalists will be announced on March 26, 2011.

PSSN is a society of professionals from different fields of nature studies, both social and natural sciences. The society was organized to provide and develop strategies towards wise and sustainable use of nature; ensure a faithful representation of responsible thinking and sentiment regarding issues about nature; establish partnership/collaboration with LGU and NGO; establish local institutional chapters; strengthen camaraderie and cooperation among the members. Every year, PSSN conducts a national scientific convention to provide a venue for its members to share the results of their scientific endeavors on nature studies, establish research and extension linkages, elect officers and board of trustees members, and invite other individuals to become a member.

The society is now accepting abstracts/papers for presentation during the conference. For the details of the conference, interested individuals may click on the link below:
https://sites.google.com/site/pssn11thconference/.

Celebrating IYB, the UPOU’s way!

When the United Nations (UN) proclaimed 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) and called on everyone to work together in safeguarding our planet’s biodiversity, the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) of UP Open University heeded this call. The FMDS recognizes the need for environmental advocacy and programs that will help safeguard the environment and our biodiversity. Thus, the FMDS-UPOU Committee on International Year of Biodiversity was formed to plan and implement activities that will help in conserving our biodiversity. The creation of the IYB committee reinforces UPOU’s commitment to help address environmental issues and challenges. The committee believes that by stirring people’s awareness on biodiversity, the web of life is preserved and safeguarded. As the slogan of UN’s 2010 IYB goes Biodiversity is life, Biodiversity is our life, UPOU believes that through the activities it has implemented, a seed of life was already planted in each individual.

The FMDS-UPOU Committee on IYB spearheaded several activities in celebration of the IYB. A tree-planting activity in June 2010 kicked-off the celebration. This was followed by fora on taxonomy and food from our biodiversity. A food festival showcasing native foods was also held. The committee also held film showings of documentaries about the current state of our environment. The highlight of the celebration was the school caravans to three schools in the nearby communities of UPOU which aimed to promote awareness among school children and in developing “Earth Ambassadors”. The celebration culminated through a convention of “Earth Ambassadors” and closing program held at the UPOU Headquarters.  

UPOU held School Caravan

The school caravan spearheaded by the FMDS-UPOU Committees on the International Year of Biodiversity and Community Service in collaboration with Philippine KOICA Fellows Association, Inc (PHILKOFA) and Yakap Kalikasan Tungo Sa Kaunlaran Ng Pilipinas, Inc. (Yakap Kalikasan) aimed to promote awareness among elementary school children on the importance of conserving biodiversity and of the underlying threats to out planet’s biodresources. This caravan was also a call for action for the youth’s involvement in protecting our environment and a way of giving back to Mother Nature.

The team went around three selected schools and trained a group of selected students in each school. These groups of students were called “Earth Ambassadors” and were expected to help promote environmental awareness in their schools and in their respective communities.

By training this group of students, they were not only empowered but they also learned to assume responsibility for taking care of the environment.  The expected outputs of the caravan/capacity building were: 1) empowered earth ambassadors who have the knowledge and skills on being stewards of the environment; 2) capacitated earth ambassadors on the use of digital media in helping conserve biodiversity and protect the environment; and 3) sustainable program on promoting biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.