Favored by a crisp, clear morning after days of rain, UP Visayas and Miagao LGU officials and personnel, along with friends, gathered on the open space by the side of the new School of Technology building on August 4, 2023 for the Eco-Trail Walk, an event of the UPV & Miagao Friendship Week Celebration which started on August 1, 2023.
“The campus is home to a good number of endemic flora and fauna and we would like to continue preserving them,” says UPV Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Rhodelia Ibabao during a short program before the walk.
Miagao Vice-Mayor Macario Napulan, who also graced the occasion, once again pointed out that the UPV campus has been declared as a bird sanctuary by Miagao and he hopes UPV will continue to be a haven for them. Napulan is no stranger to trail happenings. He was an ardent supporter of various trail events that were held in UPV in the past such as the Salomon X-Trail Run and Tuklad.
The Eco-Trail Walk was also the occasion to launch another trail inside the campus. This one is being developed in partnership with Validus Amecitia, a UPV-based brotherhood, that was represented by Francis Gerona, a UPV alumnus.
It was most fitting that Validus Amecitia co-sponsored the event for Validus is a Latin world for strong, whereas, Amecitia is another Latin word to mean friendship – strong friendship, most appropriate for the friendship being continued to be forged between UPV and the Miagao LGU.
Thrills were indeed experienced as participants tried to navigate the various muddy slopes along the trails due to days of rain before the event.
To drum the beauty of the sceneries along the way, a Best Trail Photo Contest was won by Apple Gray Deallo of the UPV National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. The People’s Choice Award photo contest based on the number of likes generated was won by Gemma Rei S. Nismal of the Miagao LGU.
In addition, there was also the Early Bird Award for the top three most punctual participants won by Richard Negrido, a UPV Security Guard, Mark Bryan Naquita another UPV Security Guard, and Larriza Jane Galvan of the Miagao LGU.
And in appreciation of senior citizens, there was The Most Senior Participant Award won by Raphael Taja, 71 years-old, for the male category and Erlinda Nolasco, 75 years old for the female category. Both are residents and barangay kagawads of Brgy. Mat-y.
The winners were awarded token prizes during the closing program at the Miagao cultural hall that capped the weeklong celebration.
There were more than 160 participants who joined the eco-trail walk. Organizers are hopeful that after the experience, participants have a gained a more meaningful appreciation of nature and the need to preserve not only its beauty, but also its contribution to our life.
