Members of the organizing panel answered the queries of the audience in the recently-held Earth Day Fair. Photo by Janine Abejay

Environmental advocacy groups from around the city gathered to celebrate the International Earth Day by organizing an Earth Day fair at the Davao Doctors College Activity Hall yesterday, April 21.

The event included an exhibit that showcased the pro-green activities and advocacies of the various environment activist organizations. An open forum was also held for representatives of the said organizations to present their plans, activities, researches and insights about the importance of environment protection as well as for the members of the audience to ask questions.

Notable presentations included earth rights, organic farming and its impacts on soils, researches on organic farmers’ profiling and rainwater catchment system and bio-hazard waste management and rainwater utilization.

When asked about the purpose of the activity, Mary Ann V. Fuentes of Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS) said, “Basically, it’s to celebrate Earth day, and because of the theme ‘It’s Our Time to Lead’. So that’s why we are really taking the initiative to lead and to call others to take part in doing green initiatives and to continue with their own green initiatives.”

“It’s everyone’s time to lead. So that’s basically the purpose, and to concentrate the purpose, we decided to put it in a school setting so that the youth will have more access to this kind of forum,” Fuentes added.

At the end of the activity, the representatives of the organizing groups as well as members of the forum’s audience pledged their support to the cause by signing a giant streamer with the title “Towards A Green and Sustainable Davao City, I Commit To”.

The event was organized by IDIS, Ecoteneo, Davao Doctor’s College, Davao City Water District (DCWD), Panalipdan Southern Mindanao, MASIPAG Mindanao, and the Office of Councilor Leonardo Avila III.