My students (ten girls ages 11-15) were super excited!  They kept on asking me when our field trip would be.  Well, the time had come!  We went on a field trip last Friday to Archival’s Eco-House in Talamban, Cebu City.

Recently in science class, we have been learning about Ecology.  We learned about different environmental problems and solutions.  My students learned about how the 3R’s (reuse, reduce, recycle) and composting can help the environment.

The kids were so amazed with the tour at the Eco-House.  They kept saying, “Wow!” and “Chooya!” (That’s Cebuano for “wow”).   We walked through the organic vegetable garden, saw the filtration system for used water, learned about goat waste converted into methane gas, sat on used crates made into various furniture, looked at the solar panels used to generate energy from the sun, and marveled at the reused materials decorating the main house.

During the tour, we learned about the vermin worm or the African night crawler that helps decompose biodegradable materials.  While the tour guide was explaining, the students listened intently.  Then suddenly, the guide asked the girls, “Who can tell me again the name of the worm?”  No one answered. The guide jokingly said, “You can’t leave here if you can’t answer.”  The girls panicked and started blurting out different answers.  One student said, “Uhm, I remember it was Japanese, right?”  Another student said, “I think it’s vermus, yeah, it’s vermus.”  We all laughed about it and were thankful we did not have to stay with the worms.

It was an enjoyable and educational experience for the kids!

-Karen Faburada