Stars and STEM Stories
GLOBE's Impact in the Philippines
In January 2024, the GLOBE Implementation Office's (GIO) Simon Castro-Wooldridge had the privilege of traveling to the Philippines in order to find out what makes The GLOBE Program so dynamic in that country. Rod de Lara, the Country Coordinator since 2014, summed it up perfectly, "It is fun! Both students and teachers really enjoy being a part of it."
There are 287 schools in the Philippines that do GLOBE, with 614 teachers trained to lead activities. Castro-Wooldridge visited three of them--in the capital city of Manila, in Clark (about a two-hour drive north of Manila), and in Batangas, a coastal city south of Manila. All the schools are part of the Philippines Science High Schools (PSHS), a system of government-funded specialized science schools with a campus in each of the 16 regions in the country. As well as doing GLOBE activities, many of these schools are acting as local hubs for the Program, providing GLOBE training for teachers and connecting with local schools that are interested in getting involved. The Philippines is made up of more than 7,500 islands, so this decentralized model really helps to keep schools in more remote areas well engaged with GLOBE.
Castro-Wooldridge recalls, "I met many wonderful high school students who all told me how impactful doing GLOBE is for them. In Manila, I met up with some of the GLOBE Student Vloggers, all of whom said how much they had learned from the training and mentoring they have been provided." In Clark, students presented the results of an intensive two-week "GLOBE Internship Program" that was offered by their teacher. Castro-Wooldridge had the pleasure of seeing the very innovative ways the students communicated their work and ideas for further research. In Batangas, he met with students who had been a part of the "Expedition to the Sea" in the Maldives, organized by the GLOBE Asia Pacific Regional Coordination Office in October 2023. "They told me how much they benefited from meeting students from many other countries, finding that doing GLOBE was their common glue and that they shared the same urgent concern to find solutions to the environmental challenges we all face. I came away inspired by their enthusiasm for GLOBE!"
A remarkable aspect of the GLOBE Philippines Program is the dedication and service shown by the teachers who are involved. In Manila, GLOBE is active at the Batasan Hills High School, where there are 20,000 students--"I wonder if this is the biggest school in the world?" Castro-Wooldridge exclaimed. Joan Callope, a science teacher at the school, coordinates the students in their GLOBE activities, trains fellow teachers, has traveled to other GLOBE member countries including the US, Bhutan, Vietnam and Bangladesh to train teachers, and is a member of the GLOBE Technology Working Group--all of this as a volunteer, in addition to her teaching responsibilities! De Lara, Joy Tolentino and Francis Emralino are also very active as Mentor Trainers (training other GLOBE teachers and trainers) and all of them are also members of the International Working Groups. It is very clear that GLOBE is their passion, and one that is very fulfilling for them.
Being part of The GLOBE Program has allowed these teachers and students to have opportunities that they could not have imagined. As a result of being part of a campaign to map mosquito habitats, they are helping local authorities reduce the prevalence of dengue disease, which can be deadly. They will also get to participate in an upcoming NASA air quality monitoring program which is traveling through several Asian cities over the next few months; one teacher told Castro-Wooldridge “NASA is a rock star in the Philippines!” They are clearly really excited.
"My visit was a great learning experience, and I returned to Boulder, Colorado (where the GLOBE Implementation Office is based) full of energy and new ideas. Many thanks to the whole GLOBE Philippines team for the very warm welcome!"
Images courtesy Simon Castro-Wooldridge, GLOBE Implementation Office.