My earlier collaborations with Forest Foundation Philippines were able to produce awareness campaigns and advocacy items that champion the importance of Philippine native trees in forest conservation (see #DrawNativeTreesPh). To reinforce the impact of the previous projects, and to hopefully deepen people’s connection with our forests, the next step was to make learning materials that highlight a Sustainable Landscape Approach in conservation.

“The Sustainable Landscape Approach allows a landscape to be seen as a series of interdependent natural and human systems, and is particularly useful when there are multiple stakeholders within a landscape with varying resource requirements and interdependencies.” (Source: Forest Foundation Philippines, Sustainable Landscape Approach Brief)

Public awareness – especially for people living in the landscapes – about this symbiotic connection can be helpful for identifying ways forward in addressing issues of forest protection, conservation, and ultimately, climate change.

The challenge then was how to visually communicate this idea. With expert guidance from the Foundation’s landscape coordinators, foresters, and project officers to ensure accuracy, I made illustrated maps of the focal Forest Foundation Philippines landscapes: Sierra Madre, Samar and Leyte, Bukidnon / Misamis Oriental, and Palawan. Each map showcases the landscapes’ respective protected areas, indigenous communities, industries and produce, ecotourism sites, and select native flora & fauna through little icons to express how these components all play roles in forest (and even cultural) conservation and protection, and how they also depend on the forests and one another to survive and thrive.

*Thanks as always to the hard-working Forest Foundation team for this meaningful project. <3

Bagui, Diane Estephanie – Landscape Coordinator for National Projects
Belmonte, Schenley Anne – Project Officer
Buduan, Eric – Landscape Coordinator for Sierra Madre and Mindanao
Canivel, Jose Andres – Executive Director
Gabriel, Ana Veronica – Landscape Coordinator for Palawan
Gualberto, Xyla Mercedita – Associate for Mindanao
Pamplona, Marjorie – Landscape Coordinator for Samar and Leyte

Sir Eric Buduan of Forest Foundation Philippines at the Sierra Madre Development Workshop.

As of this writing, we’ve produced posters that are already being used in the Foundation’s development workshops. The Foundation has also allowed me to produce a collection of advocacy merchandise based on the project (enamel pins, notebooks, postcards, tote bags) for selling in my webshop. More items are currently in production and I’ll be updating the blog once they are launched.

* Download a copy of the ForestLandscapesPh Publication for more info on our project.

*On-site activity photos are courtesy of Forest Foundation Philippines

To learn more about the heart and journey behind this project, head over to my Advocacy Through Art page. There, I will continuoisly share how these collaborations are part of a bigger mission to celebrate biodiversity, empower communities, and use creativity for conservation.

* I post most frequently on Instagram, so for a sneak peek at the latest projects (that might take a while to land here), feel free to follow along there! 😉