Various media features and interviews from July 2020 to March 2021:
Promoting Forest Conservation and Heritage Preservation Through Art | DZUP Atin ‘To Interview, March 23, 2021: Link
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Drawing Native Trees for Conservation – Presentation + Demo | Ang InK, November 2020: Link
Business Mirror, Sept. 27, 2020: Link
Arts for Conservation Episode | MUNI on this Podcast, August 2020: Link
MB Lifestyle, July 17, 2020: Link
After almost a year of collaborative back and forths, we were finally able to launch the ForesTree: A Memory Match-Up Game app right on International Forest Day 2021! You can download it for iOS and Android .
This app is completely FREE and was built by Gabby Lacuesta of Funny Cow Games under my ongoing Grant with Forest Foundation Philippines. (You can read Gabby’s notes on building the game as a touching tribute for his Dad here.)
The project sprouted as early as May 27, 2020 when Gabby messaged me on IG to talk about building a game around some of my illustrations. He had already built an engine for a memory game app back then for his own children, and I already had some native tree, leaf, flower, and fruit illustrations. Combining them into a fun match-up game that could teach kids (and kids at heart!) about our indigenous trees was the dream project. But how to fund it?
The very next day, I messaged Schenley Anne Belmonte, Communications Officer of FFP to ask if we could explore making a memory game app as I was already in the process of re-allocating my Grant funds since a lot of our planned activities couldn’t materialize due to the qurantine. Shen and the rest of the project management team, Forester & Program Officer Diane Estephanie Bagui and Knowledge Management Specialist Bryan Joel Mariano, were excited about the idea. The next step was for me to write and submit a formal project and budget proposal to FFP along with a request for the realignment of funds. Fortunately this got approved, so then I needed to gather all the materials (illustrations + info on the native species), create graphics, and send them over to Gabby.
The title of the game, “ForesTree” – which I personally think is pretty catchy — was the brainchild of the Forest Foundation Ph project team. Gabby suggested adding music and voice overs to make the game more playable, so I got in touch with my good friends, award-winning musician Jazz Nicolas (who composed a lot of the Itchyworms’ greatest hits, and more!), and Patti Malay (GM of FleishmanHillard Manila and also a radio DJ and podcast host so her voice might sound very familiar to you 🙂 ) to lend their skills. So grateful they said yes despite their busy schedules! After a quick briefing, Jazz composed four beautiful music tracks + incidental sound clips in less than two days, and we ended up using all of them in the game. Patti, meanwhile. articulated the species names clearly and perfectly, with some of the more difficult ones guided by our resident forester Diane.
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And what you see above is the result of months of building, testing, and discussing. Would also like to thank Scientist (and fellow FFP Grantee) Dr. Denise Margaret Matias for her very helpful builds during the game testing phase.
Hope you’ll enjoy playing and learning from it! The game is completely free* and you can download it from these links: iOS |Â Android
*Full transparency: Forest Foundation Philippines and I do not earn anything from the downloads or use of the ForesTree App
Very grateful to have been featured in Girls Club Asia where I talked about my journey as a female creative, the woman in my life growing up, living in Quezon City, artistic influences, and my dream collaborator. [ GO ]
Also thrilled to have been interviewed in NoliSoli.Ph where I was asked to talk about the #DrawNativeTreesPh campaign plus how my advocacy got realized, and also how the collaboration with Forest Foundation Philippines began. [ GO ]
Was also invited by Team Asia to be a guest in Part 3 of their live webinar series, “Experience Online” with the theme, “Live to Drive Passion.” The other guests were singers Karylle Yuzon and Acel Bisa van Ommen, and dancer Stephen Biadona. We all talked about how our passions fuel us to pursue our advocacies and live with purpose. You can watch the hour-and-a-half-long webinar on Team Asia’s FB page via this direct link to the video.
My work with Forest Foundation Philippines was featured recently on Adobo Magazine. Hope you can read the full interview, here. 🙂
Happy Earth Day! Even in this time of Covid-19, let’s also think about the steps we can take to protect the home that has nurtured us since we were born. It can be as simple as reducing (if not, completely avoiding) the use of single-use plastic, walking instead of taking your car, supporting our farmers and forest watchers, recycling / repurposing old items instead of throwing them away, and composting kitchen waste, among others. A healthy environment can also care for us more efficiently as we fight this pandemic together.
Also taking this moment to spread the love for our Philippine native trees and their importance in forest conservation and protection. Without our forests, our food and water security will be compromised andof course we can’t allow that to happen especially during this very challenging period.
Sharing these desktop and mobile wallpapers featuring some of the fruit-bearing trees that Forest Foundation Philippines and I showcased in our ongoing #ForestFruitsPh project.You can download them straight from FFP’s site, provided through the links below. Feel free to share them with your friends, hopefully along with the message of conservation. 🙂
Download from Forest Foundation Philippines:
#ForestTreesPh desktop wallpaper (2880 x 1800)
#ForestTreesPh mobile wallpaper (750 x 1334)
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