Environmental Camp wrapup in the Variety

Members of the press attending our Flame Tree planting on Friday morning. This article appeared in the Marianas Variety today. The print edition had a picture of the students, but does not appear on the online edition.

Summer camp student eyes career in environmental protection
By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

AT least one of the 15 middle school students who participated in the summer camp last week will pursue environmental protection as a career when she graduates from high school.

Sami Birmingham Babauta, 13, who will be with Hopwood Junior High School in the coming school year, is vice president of the Students Action for Viable Environment.
According to counselor Doug Reynolds, Babauta has decided to pursue a career in natural resource conservation.

Babauta, during the final day of the summer camp sponsored by the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, said the activity aims to educate the youth “about the importance of every effort to protect the environment.”

The students planted flame trees at American Memorial Park before they went to Managaha on Friday afternoon.

They spend the final day of their camp on Managaha Island where they get to learn more about marine life resources.

Babauta added that since camp started on June 25, presenters from MINA, Coastal Resource Management and the Division of Fish and Wildlife discussed with them the importance of tree planting, coral reefs and wet lands.

They also learned about traditional fishing methods and how wastewater is treated at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s wastewater treatment plant and the Division of Environmental Quality’s laboratories.

CRM natural resource planner Kathy Yuknavage told them about the Micronesia Challenge which aims to conserve 30 percent of the region’s near-shore marine resources and 20 percent of terrestrial resources by year 2020.

After the summer camp, which she said gave them a great learning experience, Babauta will have an internship with Beautify CNMI! and plans to hold club meetings at school.

Hopwood science teacher Bree Reynolds said the children had fun while getting hands-on training on a lot of things related to environmental protection.

Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council’s Angelo Villagomez said they ended the summer camp with barbecue on Managaha.