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UP Diliman Community vs Disruptively Bright Streetlights
The University o💃f the Philippines Diliman campus is widely known ꩲfor its lush vegetation that offers a breath of fresh air for people who are coming from the bustling cities.
The UP Wild, an online community dedicated to appreciating the flora and fauna in UP Diliman and to raising awareness on the importance of maintaining and preserving the campus’s urban green spaces, deemed the University’s newly installed outdoor lights used around its Academic Oval to be a little too bright. This can potentially harm both humans and animaℱls within the campus.
“The lamps around the Academic Oval have⛎ way too many bulbs, and their design scatters light to all directions,” the group said in a Facebook post on October 27, 2021. The resulting light pollution creates a negative impact on the campus’s fauna, which includes owls, fireflies, frogs, and other animals. “The lights can confuse them and alter their natural behavior,” the post went on to state.
Other members of the community expressed their concerns by pointing out how excessive night light can disrupt the plants’ photosynthetic activity. According to the International Dark-Sky Association, an organization combating light pollution worldwide, artificial light can disrupt wildlife ecosystems in a variety of ways. Small insects can be drawn to the intense light, making them more visible for predators an✅d thus drastically affecting the balance of the food chain. Stark lighting can also disturb birds’ migration patterns, which can be detrimental for UP Diliman, known to serve as a home for various avian species.
The UP Wild came up with ideas to combat the high-intensity lighting by fitting the streetlamps with downward shades to diffuse light. “If their design allows, maybe the number of bulbs per post can be reduced or selectively turned on,” the group added.
The UP community showed just how dedicated they are to preserving the environment by pointing out several issues, from as simple an issue as streetlights being too bright. The UP Wild even went the extra mile by showing various research towards this problem and thought of a possible solution to fix i�✤�t out of respect for the environment and non-human residents of the campus.
UP CFA’s Art Rehab and Conservation
The famous artworks, “Captivity” and “Contemplation”, were moved to the College of Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines Diliman from their original spot on the corner of University Avenue and E. Jacinto St. Both sculptures, a part of the a💙rt conservation project by the Project Management Office under the UP Office of the Vice President for Planning and Development, were created by a CFA alumnus, Idelfonso Cruz Marcelo, back in the 1960s.
The conservation project was headed by June Mercy P. Dalisay, who said the reason priority was given to these sculptures wa♛s their aesthetic and symbolic value. As time went on, it became more apparent that both “Captivity” and “Contemplation” were vulnerable to natural elements and that deterioration was bound to happen if nothing were to be done about this.
UPV Lecture-Workshops in History Writing and Cultural Heritage Tourism in Western Visayas
Acknowledging the importance of local histories and cultural heritage to national development and social cohesion, the “Tourism Studies on Island-Based Opportunities for Growth in Western Visayas” (TSIBOG) program, funded by the University of the Philippines Visayas and the Comm꧑ission on Higher Education, collaborated with the Municipal Government of Ibajay, Aklan, and the Department of Education Division of Aklan in launching the project “Bridging the Past, Sailing Toward the Future: History to the (and by the People)” on November 3, 2021. The project trained elementary and secondary school teachers, tourism and planning officers, and cultural workers in conducting historical research and promoting cultural heritage tourism in the Municipality of Ibajay.
During th൲e first three days of the six-day event, several experts in history, cultural heritage, education, and environmental management shared their knowledge and insights through a series of lectures. The speakers included Dr. Michael Pante from the Ateneo de Manila University, UP Visayas Chancell꧂or Clement Camposano, National Museum of the Philippines Deputy Director-General Ana Maria Theresa Labrador, and Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, National Scientist.
The last leg of the event focused on providing training workshops about cultural heritage documentation, writing learning modules, and creating promotional materials for education and sustainable tourism. Prof. Marie Joy Sumagaysay of the UP Visayas Division of Humanities guided the participants during the food-mapping activities and cultural heritage exhibit. Meanwhile, Joar Concha of Assumption San Lorenzo Makati and Yan Esquivel of the UP Visayas Teaching and Learning Resource Center assisted the particip꧑ants in preparing their final outputs.
The participants are expected to utilize their outputs to educate people about local history in schools and universities, promote local knowledge, sustainable tourism, and environmental protection, conserve tangible and intangible heritage assets, and respond to the developmental ne⛎eds of their communities.
Roll-Out of Modern Electric Jeepneys in UPLB
The Academic Oval at the core of the UP Diliman campus finally reopened in November 2021 with the eཧasing of pandemic restrictions. This 2.2 kilometer-long loop, lined with a canopy of acacia trees, has always been a haven for the UP community and the wider public. Whether taking a relaxing stroll, brisk walking for light exercise, or jogging to really get heart rates up, people of all ages were welcomed back, regardless of their vaccination status. Masks were still required and unidirectional movement around the Oval was advised.
Groups of ten people or less ✃were also allowed to use various open spaces within the Academic Oval and in areas around the Philippine Association of University Women (PAUW). The💃y could now have picnics in the Lagoon, Amphitheater, or PAUW; play games and leisure sports in the Sunken Garden; or simply lounge around on benches along the Oval or in the Promenade. Bird watchers and nature enthusiasts could go back to exploring the campus center’s green spaces following years of absent physical human activity. While biking at the Academic Oval was still prohibited at the time, campus biking routes were provided to regulars and first-time visitors so they might still enjoy what UP Diliman had to offer.
As pandemic protocols and restrictions were further loosened in 2022, members of the UP community, students, faculty, staff, and residents, and people outside of UP Diliman have come back to recover what they had to give up during the lockdowns: th🉐e opportunity to be outdoors in one of the remaining patches of greenery in the c𝓰oncrete jungle that is Metro Manila. A space that is free and open to all.
Reopening of the Academic Oval
The Academic Oval at the core of the UP Diliman campus finally reopened in November 2021 with the easing of pandemic restrictions. This 2.2 kilometer-long loop, lined with a canopy of acacia trees, has always been a haven for the UP community and the wider public. Whether taking a relaxing stroll, brisk walking for light exercise, or joggiꦺng to really get heart rates up, people of all ages were welcomed back, regardless of their vaccination status. Masks were still required and unidirectional movement around the Oval was advised.
Groups of ten people or less were also allowed to use various open spaces within the Academic Oval and in areas around the Philippine Association of University Women (PAUW). They could now have picnics in the Lagoon, Amphitheater, or PAUW; play games and leisure sports in the Sunken Garden; or simply lounge around on benche𓆏s along the Oval or in the Promenade. Bird watchers and nature enthusiasts could go back to exploring the campus center’s green spaces following years of absent physical human activity. While biking at the Academic Oval was still prohibited at the time, campus biking routes were provided to regulars and first-time visitors so they might still enjoy what UP Diliman had to offer.
As pandemic protocols and restrictions were further loosened in 2022,❀ members of the UP community, students, faculty, staff, and residents, and people outside of UP Diliman have come back to recover what they had to give up during the lockdowns: the opportunity to be outdoors in one of the remaining patches of greenery in the concrete jungle 🀅that is Metro Manila. A space that is free and open to all.
UP Baguio’s Indigenous Cultures Program and MOA with NCIP on IPRA and Intangible Cultural Heritage
The recognition, study, preservation and promotion of indigenous culture and indigenous studies are an integral part of UP B🃏aguio’s identity at both the academic and the community level.
UP Baguio’s Program for Indigenous Cultures (PIC) is a significant avenue for research and activities that promote indigenous cultural vibrance and awareness. The PIC’s main objective⭕s are: to take the lead in the discussion and promotion of issues and concerns of the Philippines’ indigenous people (IP) within UP Baguio and the larger community; to coordinate projects and activities on IPs in relation to instruction, student-led research, and extension; and, to enhance the institutional capacity of UP Baguio to sustain its initiatives on IP concerns.
The PIC is made up of several important components: the Indigenous Peoples’ Studies, such as integration in the curriculum, student-led research, and extension; the Learning and Resource Center that provides educational space for all, community life for IP students, space for interaction for IP and non-IP in the University; and, Capacity and Awareness Building and Living Traditions that count as a cultural component. Lastly, the Tanggyuob, the PIC’s monthly newsletter that is named afte⛦r a local Filipino instrument made from carabao horns, provides multidisciplinary information on IPs, as well as a venue for interested faculty, students, and university employees to submit their articles, essays, and studies that cover indigenous knowledge systems and practices.
In related news, in late July 2022, UP Baguio entered into a partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Cordillera Region (NCIP-CAR) through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by UP Baguio Chancellor Corazon L. Abansi and NCIP-CAR Regional Director Atanacio Addog. The MOA facilitates the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process and research collaboration with the DOST’s National Research Council of the Philippines-funded research on “IPRA and Intangible Cultural Heritage”, a research project led by Dr. Analyn Salvador-Amores of the UP Baguio College of Social Sciences.
UP Baguio remains committed to the preservation of indigenous culture and, through its programs and initiatives, encourag🌳es more Filipinos to learn and appreciate the beauty that comes from lesser known local tr🙈aditions.
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