A Day at La Mesa Ecopark

La Mesa Ecopark is a 33 hectare public park which was developed by ABS-CBN and MWSS to create public awareness on the protection and preservation of the La Mesa watershed. At La Mesa Ecopark, each member of the family can enjoy varied outdoor activities. La Mesa Ecopark boasts of the following facilities:  (a) Five hectares of picnic spots with grilling facilities underneath a forest of varied trees, (b) Salt Water Swimming Pool –  Salt granules are used instead of chlorine making the water safer and less toxic, (c) Superferry Boating Lagoon, (d) Fishing Lagoon where you can relax while waiting to catch a fish, (e) Mountain Bike Trail  where you can test your biking skills under the shade of trees.  (f)Shell Flower Terraces – Two hectares of flower terraces, (g) Ecomuseum – A museum dedicated to environmental education and biodiversity conservation, (h) Butterfly Trail and Hatchery – An educational walk through the wonderful, colorful world of butterflies, (i) Various pavilions for rent for private functions and overnight camping facilities.

We visited the ecopark with the family of my balikbayan sister, Cosette last July 23, 2011. We were fortunate that time - it was a sunny day, the rain came just before we left. It was a relaxing day for us. We held a mini-picnic of fishballs, chicharon and chips. The kids - Geof, Julia and Anne Marie - enjoyed biking. Joey, who love nature, exhausted his energy taking pictures of flowers, trees and plants. We climbed the stairs to view the La Mesa Dam reservoir - Joey lost a lot of calories - that's why he has to refuel during our lunch at Kanin Club, UP Technohub. The park was too big and we were not able to see the other attractions. But the short encounter with nature made our day.

Sagip Batis sa QC

Ondoy comes to my mind, whenever I see the pile of garbage dumped on the creeks and rivers. We have a creek near our subdivision at Carmell II in Quezon City. I always pass the bridge whenever I bring my daughter to school and recently I noticed the mess - plastic, paper, styro - dumped on the creek. It was an awful site and a smelly creek. Although our subdivision was not flooded by Ondoy, I feel that something needs to be done.

Clean-up

I  sent the photo to my former DLSU student, Onyx Crisologo, son of our congressman, Bingbong Crisologo and asked him to forward this to his father for possible action. I also plan to send a letter to our baranggay captain at Bahay Toro about the condition of the creek. I know our barangay can be relied on as I reported one case about a damaged manhole, and our barangay responded immediately. About two weeks passed and still no action. On the third week, I noticed workers cleaning the creek and garbage men collecting the sacks of garbage. The workers came from Quezon City Hall under the Oplan: Sagip Batis sa QC or Project Save the Stream. Cleaning the creek was so tedious and it took them about a week to completely remove the garbage.

 

After the clean-up! Wow!

Congratulations to the QC Environmental Protection Waste Management Department (EPWMD) for responding immediately to the problem. Thanks Onyx. I believe you will become a good councilor in our district.

POSTSCRIPT: Two weeks had past since this post and I noticed that the garbage is starting to pile up again. Di na ba tayo matututo?

To the residents of our subdivision and nearby areas, please protect our rivers and creeks. Keep them clean. HUWAG MAGTAPON NG BASURA SA ILOG!

Let us be responsible citizens. Be pro-active.

Sundays at UP Diliman: "Best afternoon ever!"

I think it's clear that our family enjoys what we call "cheap thrills." In fact, that's what this blog site is all about - to discover fun and enjoyable things without having to spend a fortune.

One thing that we as a family really enjoy is spending lazy afternoons at the UP (University of the Philippines-Diliman) Oval. Every Sunday, the UP-Oval is closed to traffic. Here, you will see joggers, bikers and children playing. At the grassy area surrounding the oval, you will find families on picnic, sleeping on mats, playing frisbee, and during summer, flying kites (I still remember our picnic and kite flying with the families of Renan, Joseph, Ronnie and Jun more than 2 years ago). If you happen to take a stroll, maybe you'll spot us there - with Geof flying his toy airplanes, Julia playing with her remote-controlled car, and Andy and I either sleeping or reading a nice book.

As Geof likes to say -"this is the best afternoon ever!"

Christmas Trees for the Planet

When you visit SM's The Block at North EDSA, Quezon City, you will see a display of Christmas Trees made from recycled materials. Recognizing the effects of man's actions on the environment and the impact of climate change on us, it is just fitting to increase public awareness on protecting the environment - thus these decorative trees are tributes to our planet. There is no need to cut a tree just to create you Christmas tree. You can use bottles, newspapers, old toys and electronic gadgets, waste materials like coconut husk, etc to create an innovative Christmas tree. What you need is a little imagination, artistic and creative skills, glitters and paint.. whola.. a Beautiful Tree for our Lord and for the Planet.

To the readers of "Living the Good Life for Less",

we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2010.

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon 2010!