I usually start my essay with a flowery remark about the topic to capture the readers’ attention (and spice things up, I guess). This time, I would go straightforward because I want them to feel how grateful I am, no sugarcoating, to be a part of this amazing cohort during the first-ever National Mangrove Youth Summit.

Day 1. I and Ella were both tired from our midnight flight from ILO to MNL. Thus, zero social battery. However, it was on the same terminal that I met Eden and Kuya Rodceal (I just don’t know the Bisaya linkage but yes, the personalities are there), two of my closest friends at that time. Then came Jayson, where we both share the same passion (and thesis) about plants; and Gwayne, who would be one of my companions for my whole stay in LPPWP.

That day was fun, tiring (since I barely had any sleep), and enigmatic (prolly our batch word!). As delegates, we started remembering each other’s names, talked about our hometowns, the state of mangroves in each of our places, the experiences we had before coming into this event, and our personal lives. Moreso, we share the same amazement on the location of LPPWP in an urban area and the same excitement when listening to Dr. Primavera’s talk on mangrove conservation in the country. After dinner, we shared our reflections around the bonfire, after that came our sort of “social night”. As a tired delegate, I slept; as such, I missed half of the fun, especially with my beloved people in the rainbow community.

Day 2. Morning walks na may kasamang immersion. Eme! This one’s probably my favorite, and as such I got to birdwatch in a Ramsar wetland area for the first time and got to share this moment with my fellow delegates. We even rode an LPPWP motorcycle (and muntik pa kaming mahulog) but that’s a fun experience anyway.

We got back, prepped, and sat our way into the plenary room during the simulation activity. It was really insightful to hear the different perspectives of every sector in the session, and there is so much difference when you’re sitting and representing an entity at the table, coming as someone who occasionally writes policy papers.

Finally, we got to share our collective goals, objectives, and activities for our two-year campaign plan! We all share the same call to action in saving Philippine mangroves in the country. All that’s left to do, I suppose, is on how we implement what we have written on our boards. There’s still a long way to go, but we’ll be fine anyways.

I truly thank MMPH and their partner organizations for letting me experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (since I cannot join the second NMYS anyway! hahaha). I’ve built a network and gained more knowledge than I’ve expected. Newfound friends made my first MNL stay memorable and enigmatic. I’m looking forward to the plans we’ve come up with. Until 2027.