The custom of giving and receiving material things for Christmas is often associated with expressing love for people close to you. Actually, it isn’t the only way to let them know that you cherish them. Aside from gift-giving, there are four other love languages (words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time and physical touch) that you can use to express appreciation towards someone.
We’ve previously listed other ways of gifting, like online workshops as a nod to the crisis we’ve had to cope with. This time, why not consider these practical gift suggestions that would make a better world possible by helping sustain the environment. Why not contribute to these causes in their name?
Local efforts
Adopt mangroves and corals
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Non-profit youth organization Kids for Kids PH lets you adopt mangroves to be planted in Siargao’s over 4,000-hectare forest in the municipality of Del Carmen. Declared a protected area, it houses 44 out of 54 mangrove species worldwide. Packages range from P250 to P1,500, and have inclusions such as an information ebook and a digital certificate.
The organization is also hosting an Adopt A Coral project in partnership with coral reef monitoring and education organization Reef Check Philippines. Available for P750 and P1,500, the project’s packages let you adopt corals and provide diving manuals and children’s books about marine conservation in Calatagan, Batangas.
[READ: Why not adopt mangroves and corals as a Christmas gift for your loved ones?]
Help support animal shelters
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We strongly advocate an “adopt, don’t shop” practice when it comes to pets, but if taking dogs or cats home isn’t an option for your animal-loving giftee, we found the next best thing.
The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has a membership that allows you to help fund the costs of treating and rehabilitating rescued animals, all for a minimum contribution of P300 per month. This fee also helps cover the costs of running the organization’s animal shelter and clinic. Meeting the minimum contribution makes your gift’s receiver an active PAWS volunteer, which means they can also participate in the organization’s other fundraisers and shelter activities.
For more information, check out PAWS’ website.
Adopt a seedling
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According to the latest forestry statistics report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Forest Management Bureau in 2019, our country has over 18.5 million hectares of total forestland. But based on Global Forest Watch’s findings, we’ve lost a total of 1.23 million hectares of that from 2001 to 2019.
This Christmas, you can help address this problem by adopting a seedling for your loved ones. Environmental group Haribon Foundation has an Adopt A Seedling program that also ensures the survival of your adopted trees in its crucial first three years of growth. The funds collected for the program are also used to support the People’s Organizations or POs maintaining the tree planting sites.
A P350 donation lets you adopt one seedling. You can check out Haribon Foundation’s website for more information.
International efforts
Adopt an animal
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If you plan on broadening your gift-giving’s scope, international non-governmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has an Adopt an Animal program as part of its global conservation work. Through its website, you can help support critically endangered animals like capuchin monkeys, Amur leopards and wallabies by purchasing donation packages
There are packages ranging from $25 to $250 that come with a certificate bearing the donor’s name, species card and even a plush toy of your adopted animal species. For more information, check out WWF’s website.
Carbon offsets
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What if you can somehow cancel the carbon emissions that you make? Yes, apparently this is possible by purchasing carbon offsets. While it seems like the practice isn’t new, it’s not commonly heard of—especially not as a Christmas gift. California-based non-profit organization Cool Effect has a carbon offset program that equates 1 ton of emissions to $8.37.
In an interview with National Geographic, Cool Effect CEO Marisa de Belloy said that an offset purchased from them “is equal to one [metric] ton of carbon emissions that were not emitted. The term offset just means you’re using that ton to offset a ton you have put into the atmosphere.” Among the activities the group does to offset emissions are planting trees and providing communities with clean-burning stoves.
For more information, check out Cool Effect’s website.
But if you’d still prefer giving your loved ones tangible keepsakes for the holidays, we have eco-friendly gift ideas from local sustainability advocates in our archives, too.
Header photo by congerdesign from Pixabay
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Writer: YANN MAGCAMIT
