548 
THE CORAL TRIANGLE: HEARST BIODIVERSITY EXPEDITION 
made by CAS and Filipino scientists. The day before this outreach event, Burke and Brett joined 
the terrestrial biologists in the field, accompanying the entomologists on a collecting trip on Mt. 
Banahaw, providing an opportunity for first-hand field experience and documenting the fieldwork 
(see Fig. 6). The outreach had 58 participants ranging from local government officials and agency 
representatives to students and faculty. Salcedo warmed up the crowd with opening comments in 
Tagalog, and the resounding stars of the event were CAS entomologist Charles Griswold and Fil¬ 
ipino botanist Edwino Fernando as they showed a large live spider, a laughing cicada, and other 
specimens that had been collected the day before (see Figs. 7-8). 
May 18, 2011: Caiatagan, Batangas Province 
This outreach was attended by 37 local government officials, including Sophia G Palacio, the 
mayor of Caiatagan, community members, and NGOs, including the troop leader and several youth 
from the Sea Scout program in Nasugbu (see Fig. 9). Sea Scouts is a joint program of the Boy 
Scouts of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard and Auxiliary and is designed for young 
boys and girls ages 13 to 18. It provides opportunities to learn swmiming and water survival tech¬ 
niques, basic seamanship, and receive career mentoring; the Nasugbu chapter also has a strong 
focus on marine conservation and species identification. The outreach was held at CAP Ocean, a 
conservation non-profit and small hotel run by Jessie de los Reyes, who is helping restore man¬ 
groves and creating artificial reefs to restore corals. The expedition team and Jessie collected live 
marine animals to showcase during the outreach. Following the outreach, the Sea Scouts helped the 
biologists release the animals back into the ocean and the biologists got to experience first hand the 
knowledge, enthusiasm and keen eye sight of the scouts (see Fig. 10). 
May 20, 2011: Philippine Science Centrum, Marikina City, Metro Manila 
As part of International Museum Day 2011, organized by the Philippine National Commission 
for Culture and the Arts and the National Committee on Museums, Sub-Committee on Science and 
Technology Museums, Burke and Brett delivered “A Workshop for the Ecology and Conservation 
of Philippine Tropical Forests and Coral Reefs” to 92 formal and informal educators (see Fig. 11). 
The workshop was by invitation only and was held at the Philippine Science Centmm (PSC), a 
hands-on science center in Marikina City. May Pagsinohin, the Executive Director of PSC, and 
Burke have known each other for many years, collaborating on visits of staff between the two insti¬ 
tutions and sharmg educational resources. The all-day workshop featured presentations on the 
expedition goals and scope, an overview of coral reef and montane ecosystems and their conserva¬ 
tion issues, preliminary findings of the expedition’s biodiversity surveys, and the carbon cycle role 
play lesson plan. 
May 23, 2011: Mabini/Tingloy, Batangas Province 
Forty-four members of the Mabini and Tmgloy communities, local government officials 
including Nilo Villanueva, the Mayor of Mabini, conservation advocates and NGOs including Con¬ 
servation International, and teachers attended this outreach. The highlight was once again the dis¬ 
play of living organisms, including a sea horse and pipe fish collected on the nearby reefs. CAS 
ichthyologist Healy Hamilton and Filipino marine biologist Joseph Commendador participated in 
the outreach, as did the CAS media team. Burke and Brett were also assisted by Javier and Castil¬ 
lo of Pusod. Dui'ing the discussions followmg the presentations. Mayor Villanueva made a public 
commitment to increase the number of permanent moorings at nearby popular dive sites, to help 
protect the reefs fi'om damage caused by anchors. (N.B. In December 2013, many new moorings 
were installed.) 
