A Tour at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

A Tour at the Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Part 1 - Art Gallery and Museum

UNP Coeds Visit the Living with Nature Center

and San Vicente Botanical Garden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Nature's art. A driftwood in the shape of a blackbird,

reminiscent of Noah's Ark story - an emissary he sent to check the flood but didn't return. He sent another, this time a dove, the universal symbol of peace today.

Catch the fish if you can on the wall, painted into a mural depicting

the enigma of the bottom of the sea, for lack of knowledge seemingly

lifeless, yet full of life and challenge to the scientist.

Springs and waterfalls gently flowing open like curtain of a stage

revealing a beautiful landscape, subject of poetry, music, myths

and legends.

Painted broken jars given a second life, function to aesthetics, in our search for beauty and meaning of material things in our wastefulness and affluent living - brokenness after all is transformation, so with life.

Petrified wood of a primitive tree traces path of evolution and biodiversity; pyroclastic rock from Mt Pinatubo's 1991 eruption, link of past and present, reality and fantasy, nature and man.

A dragon emerges from a broken jar transforms into a myth in like manner dragons once walked the earth; burial jar fragments of an indigenous culture destined to the museum and archive.

UNP Coeds 5 trek the edge of the sea; frame a wall of cataract in

make-believe mural painted by the author. ~

Part 2 - The Living with Nature Center Library

Collection of Books and References

Part 3 - Rock Collection: Study and Hobby

Petrified or fossilized wood. Carbon dating process traces

the origin, age, and habitat of the specimen.

Resin, exudate of Pine tree undergoing metamorphism into amber

Aggregate rocks in various compositions and structures.

Unidentified layered rock, indicating geologic

history.

This is not a fossil, but broken glazed jar often used to store sacred

objects and remains, like an urn in earlier times.

Soft wood fossil broken into two to find out what is really its interior made of.

Not so perfectly round but it served as canon ball in early times.

Picked from a dry river bed, this specimen is a result of continuous

and even abrasion as it travelled downstream.

Limestone undergoing metamorphism into marble which

may take a very long time under favorable conditions.

Rock collection of a student attracted by the diversity of the specimens.

Brain coral in its early stage of fossilization.

Operculum of a large seashell undergoing erosion by the elements.

Note the counterclockwise spiral, a unique find.

Shades of opal and glitter often make this petrified wood look

valuable when cut and polished, and made into fancy jewelry.

This chalky fossil looks like elephant's task.

Did elephants roam the countryside in prehistoric times?

Early stone age tools, crude and unpolished,

but they served the purpose of hunting.

Mt Pinatubo's pyroclastic rock mounted for the museum.

The rock formed while still very hot, forming a porous texture. ~

Floral arrangement of stones gathered from Bacnotan, La Union beach.

A collection of rock samples at author's home.

Part 4 - Lectures, Workshops and Researches

Part 5 - Botanical Garden and Ecological Sanctuary

Part 6 - Icons in the Garden

Rizal in Dapitan Shrine
National hero Jose Rizal is depicted biologist and naturalist while he was
on exile at Dapitan.

Apo Baket' Shrine
Holder of time-honored tradition and values, passed on
from generation to generation.

The Unknown Nanny Shrine
A nanny works with babies, toddlers, and young children, focusing on their basic care needs and supporting their development. Her role in wartime is crucial to orphaned children and widowed mother. Throughout history the unknown nanny who is also considered on a higher scale governess is considered guardian and second mother in the home. In times of war she is the unsung domestic hero so to speak, like the Unknown Soldier in the battlefield.

Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine Emilio Aguinaldo fought for a free and independent Philippines, first against Spain and then against the United States. When the Philippines declared itself an independent republic in 1898 and Aguinaldo became its president, a significant milestone was reached in the struggle against colonial rule in Asia.

Apparition of Mary before Bernadette at Lourdes
Our Lady appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, 18 times from February through July, 1858. During the apparitions she told Bernadette to dig a hole which later in the day produced a stream of water, bringing about thousands of spiritual and physical cures even to this day. Replica of the grotto dedicated to the 1917 Marian Apparition that took place in Fatima, Portugal, in loving memory of the author's sister, Sr Venie V Rotor, ofs.

Part 7 - Features of the Living with Nature Center

Rotor Family Home

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Contact: Dr Abercio V Rotor avrotor.blogspot.com

1. Renovated old home (survived typhoons, earthquakes, other calamities, WWII) for four generations.

2. San Vicente Botanical Garden – living gene bank, shrine, outdoor classroom.

3. Living with Nature (Center), advocacy, hands-on, on-site learning

4. Community-based (visits, tours, workshops, research, practicum)

5. Refuge (respite, retirement, recuperation, balikbayan, childhood experience)

6. EcoSanctuary - Wildlife habitat, orchard, open field, local ecosystems

7. Natural for healthy and happy living (food, air, herbals, pets, sense of freedom)

8. Family museum (library, archive, souvenirs, achievements, paraphernalia)

9. “The Morning After Syndrome” - preparedness for the worst upheaval (COVID-19)

10. Exodus from the City (reversal from traffic, congestion, high cost of living)

11. Right brain shift (creativity, hobbies, nature-friendly)

12. Integrated and holistic (The Humanities, back-to-basics, skills development)

13. You are not alone (“So far yet so near,” the world at the living room)

14. Ecological prayer (Love God through Nature, Nature is God’s greatest gift)

15. Don’t be a victim of Instant Syndrome (DiY, home garden, cookbook)

16. Save, save from impulse buying, planned obsolescence, ostentatious living.

17. Be simple and practical (countryside living, bayanihan, kamag-anak)

18. The golden years of life (It’s not too late, you are missing life itself)

19. Yes, you can paint, cook, build your home, do the things you dreamed of.

20. Search for the meaning of life (Learn from Victor Frankl, Schweitzer, Rizal)

Globally linked on the Internet avrotor.blogspot.com in 5000 articles to date. Search topic, download, print for your educational use in your school, community, and organization. Linked with 12 books written by AV Rotor, Bannawag magazine, (Okayka Apong), other websites. Welcome to the Living with Nature Center and San Vicente Botanical Garden. Contact - 09954672990

Part 8 - Research Topics for Thesis, Dissertation, Special Problem, and Practicum

1. Displaced People and Communities
2. Post-Modernism in Philippine Context
3. "To conserve Nature, leave Nature alone."
4. Green Wash: Ecology's Mask
5. Globalization and Sunset of Nationalism

6. Sex tourism - how widespread is it?
7. Depression and suicide claim more affluent victims than ordinary citizens. Is this true?
8. The Disappearing Rainforest and Lost Knowledge
9. Talipapa - People's Mall
10. Changing Image of the Filipina

11. “Rent-a-uterus” (Surrogate Mothers)
12. NSTP - has it achieved its purpose?
13. Opposition to Technology
14. Reviving the Indigenous games and Sports in the Philippines
15. Pornography on the Internet

16. Divisoria - Bagsakan Capital
17. Body Beautiful trends
18. Scavengers - their Hopes and Dreams
19. The Fine Art of Propaganda
20. Homogenization and Loss of Cultural Diversity

21. Social Change and the Natural Environment
22. Age of Robotics
23. Wireless Technology: Impact on school children
24. Endangered Ecosystems
25. Social and Pandemic Human Diseases

26. High rise buildings around UST and other schools -
There ought to be a law.
27. Neocolonialism in the corporate world
28. Sari-sari store, no corner has without. So with the talipapa
29. Tricycle world - a Sub-culture. So with the korong korong
30. Phaseout the Jeepney - Rolling Coffin

31. Working students: Joys and Travails
32. Plastics are banned - ways to make the campaign effective?
33. Wanted Kidney
34. Made in China – Anticipated obsolescence
35. Unsolved killing of media men in the Philippines.

36. The problem of the new general curriculum
37. Gene Therapy: Frontier of Today’s Medicine
38. Vatican and Conservatism
39. Born to Buy (Bilmoko)
40. Natural food is in

41. China: Socialism to Capitalism
42. Relocating Marginal Communities
43. The Expanding Field of Bioethics
44. Unsung heroes
45. Philippines dubbed Rip Van Winkle of Asia?

46. Philippines tops crime rate, graft and corruption, in Asia.
47. Autotoxicity: We are poisoning ourselves
48. Natural Farming: A Return to Tradition
49. Obesity now an epidemic
50. Mind Benders (Brain Drugs)

51. One-dish Meal vs Fast Food
52. Aftermath of the Cold War
53. Unsolved Murders of Philippine Journalists
54. Life under the bridge
55. Herbal medicine – a Thing of the Past

56. Longevity Trends - Effects on Society
57. Single parenthood: Planned or Circumstance
58. Effects of TV and Computers on child development
59. The Sunset of Fine Arts
60. Sustainable Environment - what is it really?

61. Fish Kill in Laguna Bay and Taal Lake
62. Frankenfood
63. Threatened and Endangered Species
64. Pollution-Related Diseases
65. Effect of the Ozone Hole

66. Whatever happened to Piso sa Pasig
67. Can genetic engineering save man from hunger?
68. Can man conquer aging?
69. Will man become immortal?
70. Are we in our sunset as a species?

71. Computer Addiction
72. Giant billboards - freedom of expression or violation of human rights?
73. Can man live alone, like in Castaway?
74. How many people can Metro Manila accommodate?
75. Allergy - global epidemic

76. Confession of a drug addict
77. Overcrowded prisons.
78. Child Labor: Chinese and Filipinos compared
79. Electricity is most expensive in the Philippines
80. Golden Years and Post-retirement

81. Cryonics - Man's Hope of Resurrection
82. Pet therapy
83. Third sex in the entertainment world
84. Bad advertisements in the Philippines
85. Rolling Billboards on buses

86. Tiangge and UK2
87. The New UST Campus
88. Longevity and Early Death
89. Effects of Telenobela
90. University without Walls

91. Flower shops at Dangwa, Dimasalang
92. NLEX Clover, Balintawak: bagsakan of farm products
93. Quiapo - where miracles happen, from herbal healing
to fortune telling
94. Anticipating the Big One (Earthquake Intensity 7 Plus)

95. Buhay sa Bahay Kubo

96. The Controversial K to 12 Education Program
97. Political Dynasty - A Social Hydra
98. ISIS - Radical Concept of New Nation
99. Racism is Alive
100. Deadly COVID-19, MERS-CoV, HIV and Ebola PHOTO

*Dr Rotor is a former professor UST, DLSU-D, SPU-QC, UPH-LP. He also served as research adviser and critic, and panel member in these and other institutions.

Part 9 - Earth Day Celebration at the Garden Ecology in the Unifying Element of World Peace

Over the past decades, over 193 countries have observed the Earth Day celebration—empowering local communities, students, and governments to create a positive change for the planet, charging forward with the popular slogan, think globally, act locally. Internet