Starting Them Young: The Youth for Biodiversity (Y4B) camp

You often hear of summer youth camps - annual get-a-way places where kids and young-ones are sent off to experience all sorts of activities and meet up with new kids to be-friend and get acquainted with, do activities and interact with. These summer camps would cost the parents almost the same amount as when they send their kids to school, but for a very short period, usually around 2 weeks to a month. Other than making new friends and avoiding being lethargic over the summer, these camps do not offer anything else.

Last May 2 to 10, 2006, a different kind of Youth camp was held in North Cotabato. SEARICE held, for the first time, the Youth for Biodiversity Camp. Recognizing the idealism and the potentials of the youth, their enthusiasm in rising up to challenges, in ensuring small and immediate victories, SEARICE involved the youth in its advocacy for plant genetic resource conservation, development and use (PGR CDU) for food and agriculture. The Youth for Biodiversity Camp is an exploration of the youth’s activism and dynamism in working together (with farmers) towards a sustainable, vibrant and rich future. Dubbed as Y4B, the week-long camp’s concept still had the feel of a summer camp, but with the activities as learning tools for the youth participants geared towards appreciation for biodiversity.

The Y4B camp aimed at increasing the awareness of the youth on the importance of agricultural biodiversity and the issues concerned with it; mobilizing the youth sector to support agricultural biodiversity conservation, development an use; and to revive and link cultural heritage to agro-biodiversity conservation, development and use among the youth sector.
A total of 31 youth participants coming from Bohol, Bukidnon, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat joined the camp, which was called Bukid ni Karl Kalabaw (Farm of Karl the Carabao). The camp adopted the atmosphere of a Big Brother reality show, minus the evictions and eliminations. The SEARICE staffs present in the camp served as counselors, or Youth Rangers as they called themselves.


The activities in the Y4B camp were not only fun and games. It started off with a Biodiversity Trail, which familiarized kids with the diverse life forms and organisms found in the community. Discussions on biodiversity and agro-biodiversity, its importance, and the different issues impacting farmers’ rights to seeds also supplemented the activities. After these issue-discussions were Kalikas-Sining, an art jamming session where the kids designed their own bags and learned other crafts from farmers; community immersion, digital photography, quiz bowl, cultural games, Philippine folk tale sharing, literary and musical show, which art subjects and designs pertain to, which themes revolve around biodiversity conservation, development and use, and a lot of other related issues.


The Y4B camp was a memorable experience for all those who participated in it, which was proudly handled by SEARICE’s younger staff. The participants, long after the camp period, has been keeping contact with the Youth Rangers and seeking advice in further organizing follow-up activities for the group that was formed from the camp. The recognized leader of the Y4B campers also initiated forming a club in their campus carrying the lessons and knowledge that was imparted to them during the Y4B camp. The aim of generating appreciation for agricultural biodiversity was very well achieved, and those who are continuing the spirit and energy of the Y4B camp are very eager to conduct deepening sessions on the issues and topics that were introduced to them.