Do you love Mother Earth?

Since Earth Day is fast approaching (on April 22), here are some of the major activities in celebration of that event. Got this from former environment secretary Elisea Gozun, recently named one of seven Champions of the Earth for 2007 by the United Nations Environment Program. Gozun is the first Filipina to be named as such.

1. Ave Maria : Healing Prayer for Ecology

Almost a hundred classical singers and instrumentalists will perform various versions of the 'Ave Maria' Prayer at the Ave Maria Gaia Mystica Concert, a multimedia event to be held at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park on April 20 to celebrate Earth Day 2007.

The multimedia concert will feature videos of our very own Tubbataha Reefs Reserve, Donsol Whale Sharks, Bohol and Malapascua Dive Sites, the Olango Bird Sanctuary, Balabac Strait Wildlife and the Agusan Marsh, and our extensive mountain ranges such as the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre.

The classical singers will perform the opening number of Gounod's Ave Maria, usually intoned by Benedictine Monks, accompanied by Raul Sunico and Mary Ann Espina at two grand pianos. The grand finale, accompanied by the lighting of candles by the audience, will be Verdi's Ave Maria, accompanied by the Makiling Ensemble.

Famous Ave Maria works by Caccini, Tosti, Saint-Saens, Malvare, Schubert, Montecillo, Verdi, and Mascagni will be interpreted along with local compositions by Buencamino, Abelardo, Santiago, Francisco, Dadap, De Leon, Bolipata, and Cayabyab. Versions of the Ave Maria will also be sung in Philippine dialects such as Ilocano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, and Bikolano.

The singers will be accompanied by renowned instrumentalists such as Lourdes Gregorio on the harp, Renato Lucas with the cello, Coke Bolipata with the violin, and Lester Demetillo with the classical guitar. Harold Galang conducts. Fides Cuyugan-Asencio is musical director.

2. Earth Day 2007 opens with ceremonies at 8 a.m. April 22, 2007 at the Quezon Circle, when Department of Environment Secretary, Angelo Reyes delivers the State of Philippine Environment Address. Tony Meloto, Filipino of the Year, will issue the call to action to heal the land and ourselves. Justice Emilio Gancayco, chair of the Quezon City Development Foundation, will give the opening remarks, Mayor Sonny Belmonte will deliver a message, and closing remarks will be delivered by Edicio de la Torre, Secretary General of Earth Day Network. Rendering musical numbers will be the Andres Bonifacio Concert Choir conducted by Jerry Dadap.

Special feature of the morning is the EcoGov Photo Exhibit on good environmental governance in local communities. Secretary Reyes, US Ambassador Kristie Kennie and USAID Mission Director Jon Lindborg will cut the ceremonial ribbon.

3. Later, there will be a Misa Angelorum Pontifical Mass to pray for the 'Children of the Planet' to be presided by His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, D.D. at the Manila Cathedral at 12 noon. Four nationally and internationally known Boy's Choirs will sing at the Mass, the Kilyawan Boy's Choir, Mark Carpio, conductor, Las Boy's Choir, Armando Salarza, conductor; Mandaluyong Boy's Choir, Sebastian Trinidad, conductor; and the Tiples de Santo Domingo, Eugene de los Santos, conductor. A thousand children from Smokey Mountain will be in attendance, 100 of them First Communicants.

4. At 7 pm the same day, SIBOL 2007, a spectacular “Light and Sound” Show highlighting the urgent need to preserve the environment, will be held at the CCP Front area. The lawn, the ramp, the fountain lagoon, and the façade will serve as stage and backdrop for a spectacular display of visual projections. A 20-minute art film on the environment, plus musical numbers and acrobatic performances directed by Chris Millado will be presented, with the participation of various artists and CCP resident companies.

5. The screening of Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” Documentary, a Greenpeace Initiative, will be held the whole day at SM Malls and other public places.

6. Awarding Ceremony for the Ecological Solid Waste Management Nationwide Search for Model Barangays will be held on April 30, 2007 at Malacanang Palace.

To learn more about the coming Earth Day celebrations, please contact the Secretariat office c/o Green Army Foundation: Tel. (632) 396-5027 to 29,

Fax (632) 442-0410 or log on to www.greenarmynetwork.net for an updated events listing.