Serica Rojas
Human Nature’s Coastival: Labor Day Weekend in La Union
It’s always refreshing to see fun yet alternative ways being done to kick off the Labor Day weekend. One such initiative this summer came from Human Nature PH with its “Save Our Seas Coastal” or more known as the “Coastival” campaign for the Oceans Month.
The event aims to emphasize how our daily personal care habits impact our seas, in hopes of inspiring adventurers and vacationers alike to take conscious efforts in preserving our marine life.
Anna Meloto-Wilk, Co-Founder and President of Human Nature, shares: “Saving Our Seas can be as simple as making sure that what goes down our shower drains won’t pollute our water ways & affect marine life. What we use on the beach does end up in open water. Over 5,000 metric tons of sunscreen containing coral-bleaching ingredients wash off from swimmers annually.”
One example clearly demonstrated during the event was the SafeProtect sunscreen being passed amongst participants who need it throughout the event. Human Nature is known to be the maker of the country’s first and only reef-friendly sunscreen. This aims to shed light to how the Philippines is home to 9% of the world’s Great Coral Triangle. Out of that number over 60% of coral reefs are in danger of being impacted by a variety of sources including marine pollutants present in synthetic sunscreens. Moreover, plastic sachets commonly used by vacationers and plastic microbead-filled lotions, facial scrubs, and toothpaste also contribute to the rising pollution problem.
Taking place in La Union from sun-up to sundown, sea-tizens, in response, came together and worked on hand filling the wide stretch of beach with a huge sand art while following the “leave no trace” principle. This being that no other materials were used other than sand, water and flat work rakes. The beautiful artwork entitled “Save Our Seas” sand art measured over 180 meters long and the creation of it was lead by celebrated muralist and climate justice advocate AG Saño.
In keeping with its fun yet purposeful theme to #saveourseas, the Coastival also featured fun eco-friendly beach activities such as the poi dancing lead by Paolo Soler, Capoeira yoga lead by Corey Willis and capoeira.
Also Read: Top 8 Beach Resorts in San Juan, La Union (2015)
