GEOTHERMAL leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) will once again open its geothermal camp facilities in Valencia, Negros Oriental to 32 Negros Island's college student leaders for its Binhi Youth Camp on October 24 to 26.

"It’s that time of the year once again for us to welcome our country's future leaders to our youth camp," said Norreen Bautista, EDC community partnerships, external relations, and watershed management group head.

"We look forward to giving them three unforgettable days of fun and experiential learning on geothermal energy - the abundant clean, renewable power that has been powering our region non-stop for over 35 years now," she said.

Now on its fifth year, the camp will focus on various aspects of sustainable development, including geothermal energy, community partnerships, and EDC's flagship “Binhi” greening legacy, which is the company's comprehensive forest restoration program.

This corporate greening program aims to bring back to abundance its 96 threatened, native tree species.

EDC has been at the forefront of environmental protection programs and has so far reforested almost 6,000 hectares with four million trees planted from 1989 to 2017 in Negros Island where its 222.5MW geothermal facility is located.

Incidentally, EDC was able to locate samples of most of its 96 flagship species here in Negros Island and are now in the process of propagating them in its automated nursery in Valencia.

The Binhi Youth Camp will be run by EDC employee-volunteers headed by its Crisis and Disaster Preparedness head, Dr. Ted Esguerra, and its Binhi Youth champions from the 2014 to 2017 batches. It will culminate with an Amazing Race and the participants' graduation ceremony on October 26.

Full coverage of the Binhi Youth Camp-Negros will be done by Positive Energy Negros on Facebook. (PR)