La Consolacion College Bacolod has strengthened its environmental partnerships with the Diocese of Bacolod and fellow academic institutions through a formal agreement aimed at advancing ecological stewardship, biodiversity conservation, environmental education and community-based action.
LCC Bacolod, represented by School President Sr. Flolyn S. Catungal, OSA, entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Diocese of Bacolod, represented by Most Rev. Louie P. Galbines, D.D., bishop of Bacolod, with the Caritas Bacolod Social Action Foundation Inc. serving as the Diocese’s implementing and coordinating office.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation on environmental protection, ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, research, education and sustainable community development.
The partnership also brings LCC Bacolod into a broader network of Catholic and academic institutions working with the Diocese to translate environmental advocacy into coordinated programs at the institutional and community levels.
Under the agreement, the partners will promote environmental awareness and ecological responsibility among students, faculty, personnel and communities while developing opportunities for research, experiential learning, capacity-building, seminars and community-based environmental activities.
A key emphasis of the partnership is the protection and restoration of native biodiversity, particularly through the planting, protection and long-term survival of endemic and indigenous tree species suited to local ecological conditions.
The agreement also incorporates the principles of the Rights of Nature and draws from the ecological teachings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home and Laudate Deum, emphasizing ecological conversion, shared responsibility and collective action in responding to environmental challenges.
For LCC Bacolod, the partnership opens additional opportunities for students, faculty members and researchers to participate in ecological restoration, environmental research, community engagement and experiential learning initiatives.
The college may also integrate environmental education, research, ecological stewardship and community engagement into relevant academic and institutional programs, while contributing faculty expertise, researchers, resource persons and technical personnel to mutually agreed initiatives.
The Diocese, meanwhile, will help connect participating institutions with diocesan offices, parishes, communities and other partners and facilitate access to technical experts, trainers and resource persons for environmental programs.
Both parties committed to jointly developing specific projects and work plans, conducting monitoring and evaluation, documenting good practices and exploring opportunities for research, technical assistance, resource mobilization and partnership development.
The agreement places community participation at the center of environmental action, recognizing local knowledge and community ownership as important to sustaining ecological initiatives.
It also calls for shared accountability among participating institutions and prioritizes environmentally appropriate and scientifically grounded approaches to restoration, including avoiding invasive or unsuitable species in ecological projects.
Through the partnership, LCC Bacolod strengthens its continuing engagement in environmental sustainability by linking academic work, research and community extension with the wider ecological mission of the Diocese and its partner institutions.
The agreement provides a framework for future projects, with specific activities, responsibilities, resources, timelines and expected outputs to be determined jointly by the participating organizations.