IN these days of irrefutable climate change and resulting high temperatures, violent thunderstorms (at least seven people have died from lightning strikes in Luzon in the past few weeks), it is not enough to rely on the government alone to mitigate what is happening. We all should be aware and do what we can within the ambit of the individually possible. And if the government is called to do its part and it does not, it should be called down to do so by public clamor. It is time to be alert and sensitive to our planet that keeps us alive by trying to keep it as it should be, a place of life for all, be it plant or animal, water or soil.

One first step is to respect nature represented by geographical features like the sea, rivers, lakes and their surroundings. Another is not to invade nature's space like mountains, hills and plains that are used for agriculture, leisure and recreation. Or to obliterate open spaces by building on them as we do in the urban areas by cluttering sidewalks, erasing parks and open recreation places for sports, picnics, etc. Even public buildings should be located elsewhere, not necessarily on public land that is more needed as open space.

All of the above calls for a master plan for government and citizens to follow for their better existence and future viability for the coming generations. There is a Land Use Law, but it seems to be unknown or ignored.

I noted some individual efforts at preservation of natural elements recently which are commendable. There are individuals, organizations, entities that in their own way, make a difference in treating nature respectfully and correctly on their own.

The Pinto Museum located in Antipolo is a good example. It is located on a sprawling hill that descends gradually. Antipolo is a hilly place, a traditional vacation and pilgrimage destination of the past because it is higher than nearby Manila and has lower temperatures. The city itself has grown and developed too fast and too unpredictably to have kept its pristine qualities though there are some areas that through the vigilance and efforts of their owners have kept their bucolic elements intact.

The Pinto Museum in Antipolo is a landmark museum for Philippine contemporary art and has built its structures in a simple but organic manner by following the terrain of its area. Its buildings start up the hill and flow down without transforming, flattening or erasing the hill. Moreover, there has been no wholesale clearing of the land of its original greenery, rather it has been added to with native endemic species, some of which are endangered and should be affirmatively preserved. The Pinto Museum structures are simple, low-height buildings that at most have a mezzanine. They do not stick out like sore thumbs but conform to the geography of their location and blend into it. The floors and some walls of the buildings incorporate in situ the boulders that naturally occur in Antipolo. They are a good example of natural features that have not been disturbed and yet contribute to something new and original to the structure. In Pinto Museum's case, they relate to the buildings while keeping their intrinsic nature.

All in all, one has the distinct feel that at the Pinto Museum, one is in the countryside surrounded by trees and plants. One can be sitting outdoors comfortably because they are under the shade of mature trees. The outside landscapes are meticulously kept and felicitously added to like a lotus pond, and selected tree and flowering bushes complimented by footpaths.

All of the above, because someone like Dr. Joven Cuanang, the founder and compelling force behind the Pinto Museum, had the vision to bring on art as an addition to Antipolo in partnership with artists whose works are in place creating an art center. Dr. Cuanang is many things — a well-known neurologist, former medical director of the St. Luke's Hospitals and an indefatigable art patron. He also conceptualized Sitio Remedios, a resort in Ilocos Norte with an aggrupation of local heritage houses that needed preservation and adaptive reuse. He is clearly an environmentalist in all his projects of which the Pinto Museum is an outstanding example. It should be emulated by all of us in whatever endeavors we have. Individual efforts can contribute mightily to save nature.

The other happy place I saw recently was the Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City. This is a huge property of the Society of the Divine Word religious order which has, like the Pinto Museum, kept its original terrain despite building a seminary, a church and a large columbarium. The first impression is that it has a forest with pathways to walk on. There are trees and more trees. It feels like a sanctuary in the concrete jungle of Metro Manila. The buildings are spaced out among the greenery and the undulating spaces that are the feature of the place. It seems effort was made to keep the natural identity of the property, to respect it as defined. People come on Sundays and holidays to visit their deceased dear ones in the columbarium as well as to be in a park. Indeed, the place is a park with its open spaces, benches to sit on and narrow footpaths under trees.

It was all brought home to me when I went to a funeral Mass there last Sunday. The chapel was set apart from the other buildings and located in a glen under large trees. It is a new chapel thoughtfully built with glass walls so one feels close to nature as the trees are virtually next to the glass walls. One feels in the midst of a forested space. Whoever conceptualized and built this structure respected its location and made the necessary adjustments to keep it as it is. I noted that in erecting it, the builders meticulously kept the trees close by intact. They must have adjusted their building techniques to keep them as they were — tall, mature trees left as they were meant to be.

As we note these two individual private initiatives that respect nature, let us hope and evangelize that others will follow. Could our major and successful developers note them and be inspired to do better by nature?