Clean energy firm First Gen Corporation has organized another leadership summit to help young students gain the knowledge and skills needed to tackle climate and energy challenges in their schools and hometowns.
The Youth for Climate and Energy Leadership Summit (YCELS) gathered 28 students from Pantabangan National High School and Cadaclan Integrated School in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. The two-day event was held recently at the Pantabangan headquarters of First Gen subsidiary First Gen Hydro Power Corporation (FG Hydro). This marks the second run of the program since it was launched last year under First Gen’s environmental awareness campaign called Create for the Climate (CFTC).
“Through YCELS, the participants learned from environmental experts and advocates about climate science, the changing energy sector, youth leadership, and how young people can lead action on climate change,” said Janice Ortañez-Dugan, First Gen assistant vice president. Resource speakers came from First Gen, the Climate Change Commission, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and several non-profit groups including Waves for Water, MAD Earth, YGOAL Inc., New Energy Nexus Philippines, and Abot Tala Community.
After the learning sessions, students formed teams to design Climate Action Projects (CAPs) to solve local environmental problems. First Gen, together with the Oscar M. Lopez (OML) Center and partner groups, guided the students to turn their ideas into workable and meaningful plans. As an added incentive, the company provided seed funding for the most creative and promising projects. The event concluded with an awarding ceremony where five teams received support and recognition.
Three teams from Pantabangan National High School and two from Cadaclan Integrated School qualified for seed funding. The winning proposals included building an eco-friendly learning space from recycled plastic bottles, turning plastic caps into materials for hydroponics and eco-bricks, setting up a solar-powered rainwater harvesting system for an herbal garden, launching a school garden with waste management and tree planting activities, and creating vertical gardens using recycled plastic bottles.
Projects were assessed by a panel made up of FG Hydro forestry specialist Nestor Bartolome, Pantabangan municipal environment and natural resources officer Angelino Tuliao, and barangay council members Jhune Vallejos of Villarica and Ernesto De Vera Jr. of Cadaclan.
