LRC conducts hiking activity at Mt. Makiling

The Learning Resource Center (LRC) held “Tara’t Mag-hike sa Makiling: A Guided Tour to the Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR)” last March 26 with around 50 individuals participating in the activity.

Aside from LRC staff, residents of Forestry dorm, tutors of LRC’s Promoting Excellence through Education Review, Agricultural and Rural Development Scholars, and guests joined in the hike to Mt. Makiling.

The tour was facilitated by LRC’s BS Forestry PEER tutors – Kyle Adrian B. Cancino and Edwin C. Dela Cruz. They provided information about the different sceneries and flora and fauna in the MMFR.

The tutors also imparted useful and valuable lessons on biodiversity and environmental conservation. Vicmar Jugado, a faculty member at the College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR) alsjoined the activity.

LRC held this activity as part of its regular recreation and team building with its students. The hike aimed to immerse the staff and students at LRC in the beauty of the MMFR – an ASEAN Heritage Park and to maximize the opportunity to see the different flora and fauna species present such as the endemic Jade Vine or Tayabak.

The team visited the Mariang Makiling Trail – Flatrocks, Mudsprings, and the Malaboo Campsite where the team had the opportunity to see the elusive Rafflesia which blooms only during this time of year at Station 14. The flower itself only lives for a couple of days which is why it is fortunate for one to encounter it in full bloom.

Dela Cruz said that the MMFR is home to a wonderful landscape and ecosystem containing diverse flora and fauna, some of which are endemic or natural to the area.

Cancino also cautioned the hikers that when visiting a forest, one should be reminded that as visitors, one must be considerate of the real residents of the forest: wildlife. “So take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints,” he said.

For more information about MMFR, check the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems (MCME) Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/makilingcenter