House committee on good government and public accountability chairman, Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas, has proposed the inclusion of environmental protection and conservation in the education curriculum “to start things right.”
Treñas lamented that even supposedly learned and enlightened citizens still commit basic mistakes that destroy Mother Nature.
He noted that the thousands of tons of garbage that found its way to the Manila Bay during the monsoon rains that flooded Metro Manila and nearby provinces was a grim reminder that the people still have a lot to learn about proper disposal of waste.
“Nobody is exempted from the responsibility of caring (for) and protecting the environment because (they make) the world livable and meaningful. We should start teaching our young the values of environmental protection,” Treñas said.
“Protecting Mother Earth is not just about planting trees and segregating wastes. It has become a subject that involves a compilation of scientific disciplines, from human psychology to ecology, biology and chemistry. We are seeing the beginnings of environmental science as a distinct field of specialization,” he added.
Treñas believed that providing the young with the right mindset on environment protection “can start at home and in school to make them aware of the importance of a clean and green earth.”
Making environment protection and conservation regular subject in schools will truly pay-off five to ten years from now, he felt,  for young people adopt a good attitude towards the environment when given the right dose of training and practice every school day.
“Inclusion of the environmental subjects would also require addition seminars or trainings for teachers but the gains the country would gain (are) priceless,” the Iloilo solon said.