Elohists Clean Sitio Pulo Island

Sitio Pulo Cleanup Drive with 82 Passionate Students

Aboard boats to Sitio Pulo were college students from the Elohist University Clubs Association.

189 sacks removed in less than three hours

Aiming to clean Block 1 and 2 of Sitio Pulo, Elohists armed themselves with rakes, ropes, and tons of rice sacks. To work efficiently, volunteers worked by buddies and lined up along the shore. They not only picked up trash, varying from plastic to leather, but also segregated them sacks upon sacks by category.

In carrying the sacks of garbage to the assembly place, unity is evident among the members. Male members made use of bamboos lying around to create a makeshift carrier of garbage sacks, to bring many at once. Even female Elohists carried sacks on their shoulders. Upon seeing the members, some kids from the residential area began helping the volunteers. The kids, who went to the island only to play and swim, cheerfully helped the volunteers in picking up garbage and carrying sacks.

In less than three hours, Elohists gathered 189 sacks of garbage from Sitio Pulo. The sacks of garbage will be transported to the baywalk the following day.

“We saw the perseverance of the members to help clean the community, so we are very grateful,” said Ms. Lara S. Fajardo, an Information System Analyst I of DENR-NCR. “On behalf of DENR-NCR and our Regional Director, Ms. Lourdes Wagan, we are very thankful that the Elohist Organization chose this site for their cleanup.”

Sitio Pulo, A Bird Haven

Sitio Pulo is a long narrow island surrounded by mudflats, situated in the Manila Bay coast of Navotas. It is a sitio in the northern village of Tanza, formerly connected to the mainland by a bamboo bridge.

It used to be really beautiful as mangrove trees covered its entirety, and had a variety of fauna. Currently, it is home to 2,000 birds. Egrets, terns, kingfishers, gulls and plovers come to the island during winter in the northern or southern hemispheres. Even the Chinese egret, which was formerly a seasonal visitor, has now made Sitio Pulo its home.

But it all changed when informal settlers began moving in. Cutting down mangroves, the settlers turned them into firewood. They even catch birds for food.

Sitio Pulo, A Clean Haven

Hoping to make Sitio Pulo a healthy haven for migratory birds, Elohist members resolved not to stop just yet. To make Sitio Pulo a safe and clean haven, Elohists plan to continually conduct cleanup campaigns in the island.