We all took the bus to Las Piñas at 7:15 in the morning. Las Piñas is a quiet bay-side place with thriving bird life in the south of the city. We started off our service trip with a walk to a common area where we left our things and were debriefed on what we were to do. We each got a pair of gloves, a mask and a trash bag, and set out to spend the first hour picking up old, usable footwear from the beach, which the locals could re-use. We then spent the last ten minutes clearing one patch of the beach of all non-biodegradable waste: plastic bags, glass bottles and styrofoam packaging. After a short break where we washed up, we went for a walk around the place with a guide, and learnt more about how the ecosystem and biodiversity of the island. We had all our questions answered and learnt about how the island and its bird and plant life are affected by various factors like the nearby city, the rains and the weather. We then set out to plant some nila trees (yamstick mangroves) by the lake before we left for school again.This service trip was very involving and had us actively working. -Vandhana Kannan | |