FOR almost a week in far Leverkusen, Germany, four students from the Philippines met fellow young leaders from other countries who shared their passion for the environment and commitment to pursue projects to help save a world threatened by global warming.

They learned that if people put to good use things they learned in school, they could make a difference. They realized that helping to heal earth?s ?fever? is cool.

Philippe Jan dela Cruz, a University of St. La Salle Bacolod senior accountancy student, said he realized ?there are many youth leaders with the same passion for the environment and they, too, are doing something really productive for the planet.?

Dela Cruz and the three other Filipinos joined some 50 students from 18 countries in the study tour sponsored by pharmaceutical and crop science company Bayer.

The young envoys were chosen based on their project proposals on how to help save the environment.

They drew inspiration from one another, finding new allies in their advocacy.

Participants came from India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Philippines, Poland, Turkey, Kenya and South Africa.

Actual implementation

The Filipino delegates impressed the other envoys because they actually implemented their proposals.

Dela Cruz produced charcoal briquettes out of old newspapers and damaged books, selling the briquettes in Bacolod City.

Team leader Dandee Bitancor, a Bicol University economics student, planted vegetables on 10 vertical trellises in Albay.

Ateneo de Manila University environmental science student Jairus Carmela Josol produced communication materials to raise awareness of climate change in Southern Leyte towns that were affected by landslides and soil erosion.

Philippine Women?s University nutrition student Elizabeth Lambino designed trash bins for her school and launched environmental awareness campaigns.

?It is encouraging how young people are committed to environmental and climate protection,? said Satinder Bindra, public information director of the United Nations Environment Program (Unep), cosponsor with Bayer of the environmental envoy project.

The six-day tour brought the delegates to Bayer?s headquarters and laboratory; Leverkusen?s municipal waste management, where they saw residents unloading from their cars stuff much like the ones in junkyards here and segregating them; Bayer?s eco-commercial building that had zero emissions of greenhouse gases and an incinerator facility.

The delegates learned that recycling wastes was not only good for the environment, but could also generate revenues and employment. Leverkusen?s waste management facility recycles paper and aluminum, creates compost for fertilizer and operates a power station that produces electricity out of trash.

?I?ve realized that environmental protection and the economy go hand in hand, that there should be no tradeoffs,? said Bitancor.

The students participated in discussions about the environment that featured experts on food production, maternal health, economy and sustainable architecture.

But what Josol enjoyed most was working at the Bayer laboratory. ?There is really a big difference between textbook learning and working in an actual laboratory,? she said.

Through their interaction with delegates from other countries, the Filipinos also learned about other cultures.

Lambino said she was delighted to hear how the educational system worked in other countries. She was surprised that students in other countries spent more than 12 years from grade to high school before entering college. Filipinos only need at least 10 years of pre-college schooling.

The annual Bayer Young Environmental Envoys (BYEE) Program started in 1998. Through the years some 9,500 young people have sent project proposals and about 450 have joined the all-expense paid study tour in Germany.

In the Philippines, Bayer selects 12 national finalists to implement their project proposals and participate in an eco-camp. Of these, four are chosen to represent the country in Germany. Nominations usually begin in March.

This year?s study tour preceded the United Nation?s Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen
Dec. 7-18.

Bindra said, ?Combating climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humankind today.? He said 75 percent of weather disturbances the world was experiencing, like the Philippine Typhoons ?Ondoy? and ?Pepeng,? were climate change-related.

The work of Bayer?s environmental envoys sent a message of hope that if people used what they learned?and if they worked together?it was not too late for humanity to save its home, Bindra said.