Celebrities Nadine Lustre and Marc Nelson spent their Saturday morning picking up trash at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat & Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA).
The cleanup drive was organized by Planet CORA (Communities Organized for Resource Allocation) to help maintain the LPPCHEA’s ecosystem which has over 80 species. The wetland is also known as a bird haven, as it is a pitstop for migratory birds.
Lustre gave a peek into the cleaning efforts on her Instagram Stories, sharing a picture of her and fellow volunteers with trash collected into large flour sacks.
Image: Instagram/@nadine
Nadine Lustre (center) with fellow volunteers. Image: Instagram/@nadine
Meanwhile, Nelson called attention to the single-use plastics found along the coast such as shopping bags.
“As always, a ton of unnecessary [single-use] plastics were found, which have a devastating effect on all marine animals, the reefs, and ultimately, us. [Microplastics] are now in our food chain, so we end up eating them,” the TV host said.
While the LPPCHEA is a protected area, it continues to be polluted with household garbage coming from rivers that flow to the Manila Bay. Besides hosting fish, bird and other species, the wetland also helps guard against storm surges by absorbing excess rainfall during a storm and releasing it during dry season. JB
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