Last March, 50 junior and senior high school students participated in the first ever Thunderbird Resorts Efforts on Environment Sustainability (TREES) on-the-spot essay writing contest. The contest was held simultaneously in Thunderbird Resorts in Binangonan, Rizal, and in Poro Point, La Union.
After listening to lectures given by environment experts from Haribon Foundation, Earth Day Network, and ABS-CBN Foundation-Bantay Kalikasan, students were given two hours to write an essay on what they’ve learned that day, on how they will share their learnings with their fellow youth, and on the steps they will to help save the environment.
In the end, Exelle Anne Garrido, a senior from St. Rose of Lima Montessori School, and Jason Madrid, a junior from St. Louis College High School, bagged the grand prizes for Rizal and La Union, respectively. Both ran and hugged their teacher coaches upon hearing their names, and were teary-eyed as they received their mock checks onstage.
This contest marked the culmination of the provincial essay writing contest that Thunderbird Resorts spearheaded with the help of the Department of Education Center for Student and Co-Curricular Affairs (DepED CSCA).
For Rizal, speakers and judges were Thunderbird Resorts vice president for design and construction Angel Sueiro, Earth Day Network executive director Voltaire Alferez, ABS-CBN Foundation - Bantay Kalikasan senior mobilization officer Darryn Castillo, professor Maria Cristina Rara from the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, and Rizal provincial tourism officer Generosa Sumulong-Ledonio. Also present were Thunderbird Resorts food and