The Return of the Mangrove

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature - School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Acknowledgment: JBLFMU Ecological Park Ecological Park, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras Island.

Ode to the mangrove

You are Nature's pioneer

between land and sea,

halting the sea

from moving to land,

and land to sea;

being her referee,

she has set you free.

AVR (Light in the Woods)

 Board walk made of bamboo takes the visitor into the heart of the mangrove swamp.

Breathing roots or pneumatopores  of mangrove stick out at low tide; brace and prop roots cling to the muddy bottom; old leaves decompose into organic matter or detritus.

Mangrove seedlings

Spent fishpond planted to mangrove (Rhizophora candelaria)

 

Deer now extinct in the island stands as stone monument.  

 

Stone crocodile is a reminder of its presence in the island a long time ago; charred remains of a mangrove species, probably Brugiera or Ceriops 

Field Study: Participants to the 20th annual conference of the Philippine Society for Educational Research and Evaluation (PSERE) May 10 and 11, 2012, representing some 20 universities and colleges in the Philippines, visit the ecological center in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.  Research towards Sustainable Development is the theme of the conference.

Fifteen Reasons I Love the Mangrove 

I love the mangrove for building a natural wall against tidal waves and tsunami, at the edge of the sea; 

I love the mangrove for providing a nursery for fish and other aquatic life, weaning them to the open sea;

I love the mangrove for rip-rapping the shores and banks against erosion, and building soil in the process;

I love the mangrove for its rich biodiversity - flora and fauna, protists and monera - in chains and webs;

I love the mangrove for filtering the salt and dust in the air, and buffering noise into sweet sound;  

I love the mangrove for the legends and tales it holds - of fairies and mermaids, of pirates and treasures;  

I love the mangrove for its unique life cycle - self-regenerating, self-fertilizing, needing no cultivation; 

  

I love the mangrove for the countless valuable materials it gives, from timber, to firewood, tannin, to medicine;

I love the mangrove for keeping the surroundings cool, freshening the air, absorbing carbon in the air;

I love the mangrove for its mixed stand of vegetation by layers, making a distinct forest of its own kind;

I love the mangrove for being the home of migrating birds coming and going every season of the year; 

I love the mangrove for being the home of rare species, heretofore barely studied and identified;

I love the mangrove for its resistance to pollution, and ability to help nature's housekeeping;

  

I love the mangrove for its being a natural tourists' attraction, field laboratory, and educational center;

I love the mangrove for its humility and persistence, even in a most hostile  environment;

I love the mangrove for what it is, without it, there are species that cannot survive, humans among them. 

I love the mangrove for being part of creation, for every living thing has a purpose on earth. ~