LUCENA CITY, Quezon Aug. 11 – The first-ever produced animated film about biodiversity conservation entitled “Popoy and Friends: Mata ng Karagatan” by a non-government organization (NGO) Tanggol Kalikasan was launched last week at the Dalahican Elementary School here.
Tanggol Kalikasan reported that more than 300 students and teachers came in droves from various public elementary and high schools along the city’s coastline barangays during this week’s film showing.
These schools included Dalahican Elementary School, Barra Elementary School, Lucena Dalahican National High School – Barra Annex, Dalahican Elementary School Annex, Dalahican National High School and Talao-Talao Elementary School.
Tanggol Kalikasan is an NGO engaged in empowering communities and key institutions to manage their ecosystem through lawyering for public interest and other creative mechanisms towards environmental protection and conservation.
The NGO’s film show organizers said their environment partners from the Lucena City government and the Sangguniang Barangay of Dalahican also participated in the event.
They said the community engagement through the first animated film on the environment brings public awareness aligned with their vision “to empower society that relates with the environment in a just and sustainable manner for the equitable benefit for all Filipinos” especially among the millennials.
Elementary and high school graders were amused on the story featuring Popoy Pawikan, a friendly and kind-hearted marine turtle who lives in the sea with friends Gigi Galunggong (fish) and Ana Alimasag (crab).
The school children were delighted on the film’s opening which portrayed Popoy and friends who were out for a swimming excursion.
A scene however struck them when the dynamite used by senseless fishers blew the aquatic animal’s home, killing every fish, corals and other marine life in sight.
The young viewers were convinced that Popoy and friends realized they were not safe there anymore.
In the task of seeking new habitat, Popoy and his friends set out on an adventure to find the island he saw in his dream while learning more about the ocean and how to protect its biodiversity.
At the close of the animation showing, Tanggol Kalikasan representatives and organization distributed information-education and communication (IEC) materials including the DVD copies of the animation to the film viewers.
Members of the Sangguniang Barangay of Dalahican, this city government, YES-O coordinators, school’s principals and representatives also received the informative materials and digital copies of the animation.
As part of the culminating activities, students and teachers were encouraged to have a selfie with the call outs and official frame of the project such as “I will conserve water; Water has Life, Water is life; Save the Endangered Species and I will Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”
Students were likewise elated to receive their give-away fans, bookmarks, stickers and pins with the message “I support Biodiversity Conservation” and the hashtag #TKforBiodiversityConservation. (Michelle Cedeño/PNA)
* Stay at Home and START YOUR OWN blog site, business or personal website, or e-commerce store at
www.wirenine.comLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=104699.0
