Sunday, March 11, 2007 An experiment brings unexpected results By Stella A. Estremera
ON June 12, 2006, a group of divers and friends from what was then the Swag, the Philippine Army, Island Garden City of Samal Mayor Rogelio Antalan, City Administrator Cleto B. Gales Jr., and Paradise Island Beach Resort manager Julie Rodriguez gathered in a project spearheaded by the Aquamarine Protection and Preservation Alliance (Appa).
The project was called the Freedom Art Reef. The idea was simple enough. Make an eight-rayed artificial reef that will be deployed off Paradise Island for one year. The economics of the idea is that Appa, while it has been involved in a lot of marine environment-related activities, does not have the funds to go on any project big-time. Stretching out the project for one year will give the group time to gather resources from friends, colleagues, and anyone gullible enough to be wheedled into donating a half-pyramid shaped steel structure with cement parts.
With just three months to go, a total of six of the eight modules have already been deployed, the latest two donated by the Naval Forces of Eastern Mindanao (NFEM) led by Commodore Ferdinand Golez.
Thus, last Thursday, still within the Araw ng Samal celebration, the group of divers with a battleship load of navy personnel and members of the Naval Special Operations Unit 7 (formerly known as Swag) led by its commanding officer Roberto Rubia, City Administrator Gales (the mayor this time was out of town), and Paradise Island's Sir Julie gathered anew as one in the continuation of this experimental art reef project.
After a short program the Navy frogmen and Appa divers with Gales set out to deploy the two modules and connect these to four others that were already underwater.
The first two modules have already generated considerable number of soft and hard corals in the making. And because of its half-pyramid design, it has also become a fish shelter of sorts. A resident puffer fish have been welcoming the divers since after the first module was deployed last year.
The six modules so far deployed more than just has the makings of an eight-rayed sun, it also now represents a unified effort to save our seas, having gathered donors from both private and public sectors; willing hands (and pockets) who readily sent in their support upon knowing what the project is all about.
This was pointed out by Gales in his short message during the program.
The project manifests what people can do when working together for the environment, he said, and the project has come to symbolize the coming together of all sectors for a common cause.
With just two modules left to deploy, there are more people volunteering to help (and finance). In restrospect, the experiment has become not just an experiment on an artificial reef design, that turned out to be a good fish shelter as well, but an experiment into the social dynamics of gathering multi-sectoral support for an environmental project.
As has been said in the 1989 Kevin Costner starrer Field of Dreams, "If you build it, he will come." In this case, it's "they" -- the willing donors, supporters, helping hands, friends, and yes... the fish and corals.
