By Ace Labrador
A Labrador
Blog Post
April 17, 2015
On my wild search for Baguio city’s attractions, TripAdvisor has led me to my next trip, the new Maryknoll ecological park. Nestled along a hill and surrounded by towering pine trees, it was a tranquil refuge of green vegetation that provides breakouts from the hustle and bustle of urban center life.
During my day trip to the area I unfortunately, for some reason, I blanked out where it was located exactly so I had to use my human GPs just to know exactly where it is located. Actually, I couldn’t even recall how I got there. But I have not forgotten how beautiful the place was and how wonderful and peaceful I felt when I was at that place.
People may be familiar with the famous Baguio Botanical Garden but very few know about a refuge run by nuns. Considered as an eco-trek area where one can reflect or simply savor the green view.
Upon arriving at the center, I was given a map which will be used for us to be guided inside the sanctuary. a guide to what they refer to as the Cosmic Journey. 14 stations that symbolized the formation of the world and how it has evolved. Each station is represented by symbols and a sign that explains how the world was formed.
For the Maryknoll Sisters in the Philippines, the devastation wrought by the July 1990 earthquake in Baguio City became a discerning force which animated a new educational role. In the light of a growing awareness of the earth’s fragility, the Maryknoll Sisters were compelled to build a radical decision to dedicate their resources in Baguio to alternative environmental education. With this new mission defined, the rebuilding of Maryknoll commenced a year after the quake.
The “Cosmic Journey” became the major task within the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary. It is described as “a nature walk of play and discovery into the earth’s deep interconnectedness.”
A sum of fourteen different stations was created to portray “the magnificence of the unfolding of the cosmos.” The 1st station is about the coming into being of the Universe.
