Environment: Lichens are Nature's Indicator of Fresh Clean Air

 Lichens are Nature's Indicator of Fresh Clean Air

How do we know if we are living in a pristine environment? Consult the lichens in your area.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Squamous lichen, an intermediate of crustose and foliose types. La Mesa Eco Park, QC

A lichen is formed by a alga and a fungus living in symbiosis, which scientists believe to have evolved through millions of years. It is a classical example of evolutionary success through cooperation rather than competition.  The union is so closely knit that they have become strictly inseparable.  The classification of lichens  is based on  species composition, and on their anatomical and morphological characteristics as evidenced by their growing habits.

Lichens are among the longest living organisms.  It is because of their symbiotic advantage over individual organisms. It is a well known fact that a lichen may have a lifespan of several centuries.  In fact a certain Arctic specimen of a crustose lichen, Rhisocarpon geographicum, was found to be about 9000 years old!

If you find lichens growing in the area where you live, you are very lucky. You are away from the black cloud of smog, the confines of "maddening" crowd, smoke belching vehicles, and spewing factory chimneys. And you have all the reasons to be happy - so with your family. This is luxury today.

The air you breath is fresh and clean, cool and soothing. Your lungs are clear, your skin glistens clean and robust, you walk with stride and gait, and you wear a smile even if you are not aware of it. It is because the air that surrounds us is a natural blanket that enwraps our body physically and physiologically, outside and inside, through respiration and circulation.

Thank the lowly lichen - nature's biological indicator.

Foliose lichen in summer. Note large composite mass. Lipa Batangas

Foliose lichen, Parks and Wildlife Nature Center QC. Note the smaller size of this specimen as compared to the foliose lichen in Lipa (above). Lichens may differ not only in structure but by the component members - a lichen being a community of alga and fungus living in mutualism. Generally, as the air becomes polluted the size of a lichen decreases - or may totally disappear.

Fruticose lichen appears like beard. This presence and condition of the fruticose lichen is perhaps the ultimate assurance of good air quality. Tagaytay (Angels Hills Retreat Center)

Community of green algae, lichen and moss (UP Diliman). During the summer months the moss in its sporophytic phase dries up but grows back the following rainy season. This is not the case of lichens.\

This mass of lichen grows on cycad (Oliva) growing just across my residence in QC. It is a queer looking kind which does not clearly fall under the general classification of lichens.  It is neither foliose nor fruticose, although it is closer to the latter, except for its tendency to form a compact colony instead of growing freely to form hanging structures for which it earned its name fruticose. The specimen is also different from two other type: Leprose which appear as powdery mass, and Squamulose which is much the same as crustose, but with 
raised edges, which can be folded and lobe-like.

Functional and environment-friendly art from waste

Functional and environment-friendly art  from waste
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

Utility bag from discarded packaging materials - functional and environment-friendly art. Courtesy of Celing, enterprising housewife (Marcelina Centeno Daño)

Giant Christmas Tree made of soft drink plastic straw - 

one for the Book of Guinness. Parish church, Bocaue Bulacan

 Recycled paper into a waste paper basket. (Internet)

PET bottle recycled into a floral decor (Internet). 

Miniature Dioramas of Nature

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Tropical Island miniature diorama

Among the best features of the former Museum of St. Paul College (now university) QC were a dozen mini-dioramas depicting the major biomes of the world.

I have introduced two terms not many are familiar – diorama and biome. Imagine a stage scene with the characters performing a play with appropriate props and background. Now compress everything to fit into a standard home aquarium. It is a miniature version of the large dioramas at the National Museum or at the Ayala Museum.

A diorama has a specific subject matter from which the viewer, like in a stage play, associates a theme or event. It may be something to recall from ones readings or class lectures, such as the First Philippine Independence. It could be a view that is faithfully copied,  like the Rice Terraces or Mayon Volcano.

At the SPU Museum, the depiction of the different major biomes or ecotypes is likened to Nayong Filipino where the visitor, after going though the place, feels he has traveled the Philippines and saw the country’s major tourist spots.

Similarly, viewing a desert biome makes one feel he is in Sahara or Utah. Inside a tropical rainforest one has to peer into the undergrowths and epiphytes, and the many creatures that live there, recalling his experience in climbing Mt. Makiling or simply associating the view with what he saw on TV, say the Amazon on National Geographic Channel.

Perhaps the most challenging biome to interpret into a mini diorama is the underwater world in profile with the land. As a marine environment at least five ecosystems are shown: intertidal zone, mangrove, estuary, seagrass bed, coral reef and continental shelf. In this case, the presentation is specific to the ecosystem to present overloading, as one can gleam from the photographs.

Diorama depicting an Alpine biome, typical of cold highland areas lie the Alps mountain.
The Idea of a Mini-Diorama

It all started with my children at our small frame shop. Anna’s group in school was to make a diorama depicting a picnic scene on the shore of Laguna Bay in Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere”. There you can see Ibarra courageously saving Elias from a ferocious crocodile before the eyes of his beloved, Maria Clara who was at the verge of losing consciousness while the rest of their companions were suspended in fear and helplessness. So dramatic is the scene that it veered away from reality. But by studying the symbolic role of the characters, the scene was an important chapter in Rizal’s book.

Leo Carlo made a different diorama for his school assignment. It is a tragic yet romantic scene in Francisco Balagtas masterpiece, “Florante at Laura.” Tied to a post Florante waits in despair as hungry beasts surround him. So alive are the lions that Leo skillfully made out of plastic lions he bought from a toy store. For Florante, he converted toy Tarzan to look like a medieval character. The trees were made from driftwood and twigs. Seen from three vantage points, the scene appears to move like a revolving stage, giving a feeling to the viewer that the lions are as restless as their potential prey.

Techniques and Materials in Making a Mini-Diorama

The mini-dioramas at the former

St. Paul Museum are made of local and recycled materials, toys, and figurines. The expensive part is the glass casing, but even discarded aquariums can be used for this purpose. The beauty of a mini-diorama lies in the skill of the maker, the artist. For example, the characters and parts must be of appropriate size and proportion,

Through a technique Michelangelo and El Greco developed called foreshortening, the effect is that depth and distance are enhanced in spite of the limited space. Similarly dimensions of objects are purposely distorted just like a movie backdrop. The background must create a panoramic effect and must blend with the stage or ground. It integrates the whole view to appear as one contiguous scene.

Lighting is very important just like a stage. Pin lights are ideal but expensive. Under ordinary or natural lighting the mini-diorama is placed as near as possible to the source of light where light penetrates well into the glass casing without causing glare.

Before closing the diorama air tight with silicone glass sealer, everything inside must be thoroughly dry. To insure dryness hide a bag of silica gel which acts as desiccators and a ball of naphthalene to control possible pest.

Guide in Making a Mini-Diorama

1. Before making your project, plan it well. Have a definite subject matter and make a scaled plan for. Sketch the characters, compute for their measurements. Indicate their positions.

2. Have a reference that is reliable. Not from comic books, unless fiction and fantasy is your subject. For science like biology, your reference must be one that is an authority on the subject. This should not prevent you from substantiating it with rich imagination.

3. Firmly secure all parts using strong glue or fastener, as may be the case. Do not use materials that melt, e.g. wax and molding clay. In time these get destroyed by extremes in temperature and by handling.

4. Simulate natural scenes with permanent materials. For example, a lake or pond is made using a piece of glass placed over a blue bottom. A field or meadow is made of cement shaped with the corresponding contour and painted to appear like one.

5. Use acrylic or oil paint. Avoid colors that flake or fade. Remember that artistic quality must conform to the subject being portrayed.

6. Be accurate with your subject. There are no lions in the Philippines, Bats do not go out during the day. Be factual. There was no man yet at the time of the dinosaurs. A waterfall has a living source of water.

7. Be sure your diorama looks beautiful in any direction, front sides and top. Actually a aquarium type of diorama is more difficult to make than a flat glass one which is typical of standard size dioramas. Thus a mini-diorama demands greater skill.

8. Consult advisers for both aspects of artistic quality and subject accuracy.

9. Remember you are making a masterpiece that should last very long like a painting or sculpture.

10. Describe your work. Give a title and put in capsule the explanation of the topic or subject.  What is it that you want to project as lesson or message? Is the aesthetic value appealing and entertaining? Does it conform to good taste? Does it convey values and speak of universal truth?

Diorama – the Ultimate Spatial Art

There is a saying that if you can make a good diorama you must be an accomplished artist. True. In a diorama, you are a painter, a sculptor, an architect, a cinematographer, a stage director, and interior decorator. Besides you must be well informed about the subject matter. You are a historian, biologist, sportsman, and the like.

It is a good training for students at St. Paul College QC, especially in the fields of natural sciences and humanities. Now and then the museum features works of students in these two general fields. Recently the museum projected environment as theme for the quarter of the last school year. As an educational tool, the students make full use of their senses as they go through the process of hands-on and experiential learning. One good thing is that critiquing is done in any stage of work as if the teacher is conducting tests or grading recitations. Group work is encouraged and expertise is tapped from each member. No it is not only cooperation that counts; it is integration of knowledge and skills. And the true test is the result of collective effort.

Other Kinds of Transforms

When Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan showed me the works of his students in biology using nails, paper clips, tin can, buttons and anything one can pick around, to make a giant paramecium, I said it is a very good idea. It is because you can expand your imagination and not only confine yourself to the left-brain. Transforms stimulate both hemispheres of the brain, and they make the students become more aware and sensitive to the things around them. Imagine a series of nails glued along the periphery of the paramecium. It is a perfect illustration of cilia that the organism uses for locomotion, and yet the nail serves another purpose and has nothing to do with biology.

Short of saying this approach is ethnic art, in many ways, the students feels at home in the learning process. It is dollar saver if we can do away with imported models.

It reminds me of my experience as a child making toys and playthings out of simple things and without spending a cent. For example, a wooden thread reel makes a fine road buggy self-propelled by rubber band that serves like spring of an old fashioned watch. There was no need of battery and there was no such thing as depreciation. Well, because it had few parts and there was no cost involved. Today, I realize I had invented something that is worth patenting. What with the spiraling cost of energy!

Today’s toys on the other hand come handy with a rich variety to choose from. There is no more effort to play a toy, more so to understand how it works. Inside the toy is unknown, a mystery that a child would like to find out and explore. It is the dismantling and subsequent destruction that satisfies his curiosity – if ever at all. Seldom does a child today grow wiser and more mature with toys, unlike during my time when toys were catalyst to learning and growing up. Then one makes his toy; now one unwittingly destroys it. Then it was function that was important; now it is style and sophistication that create demand.

Educational Tools are Everywhere

It is the impact and value that one must look for. It is the relevance to present day situation that make these tools valuable. As science and technology progress by leaps and bounds, many educational models have become outdated. For example, in genetics, limiting the model to the gene level would not sufficiently explain genetic engineering. One must know the Crick and Watson model and its latest version showing the DNA splitting and re-organizing in order to understand how Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are formed.

Hands-on with Computer is a Different Experience

Computers are known for rapid processing, wide coverage, versatility and virtual reality. It has wired the world and shrunk it within the reach of every user of the tool. In fact the box and the user are one, so to speak. But it is this very dependence on the computer that leaves very little room for the user to seek basic knowledge and learn basic skills.

Computers cannot totally replace transforms, audio-visual aids, and other educational tools. In the natural world the senses are very important. They must be honed. They are man’s connection to nature. Development of a skill is a actual activity, and it takes time to perfect it.  Values are gained with good company. Innovativeness emanates where there is necessity. It is like saying necessity is the mother of invention. Feelings are conveyed and shared in a very  personal way. Which reminds me of a person who asked the computer what is the meaning of love. The reply was prompt and came in a hundred definitions. Not satisfied, he asked the computer to illustrate the feeling of one in love. To which the machine labored for the correct answer. Finally it gave up and replied, “I cannot feel.”

Not with a mini-diorama. One must use fully his senses, a six one included - a sense of appreciation that comes from the heart. “It is only through the heart that one speaks clearly,” said the fox to the Little Prince. It is true. True learning comes not only from the mind, but also together with the heart. ~

Creative Photography: Photography as Art

Creative Photography:  Photography as Art

Dr Abe V Rotor

Reference for Communications Art (UST Faculty of Arts and Letters) 

1. Halo effect enhances religious ambiance of the stone icons atop UST's main building in modified silhouette through selective photo editing, without erasing the colonial features of the building. Photo by Miss Alyssa Beltran.

2. Chandelier, stained glass and lantern. Without tripod this night scene can be captured with high resolution camera, within the range of 5 to 8 megapixels. Editing is needed to enhance contrast and colors.  

3. Combining field photo and still life of the same subject gives a complete picture of the specimen - rambutan.  The composite photo shows botanical characteristics of  the fruiting tree and morphological features of the fruit showing the rind and edible pulp.  This technique is recommended for technical photography. AVR

4. Macro and micro photography.  Stone covered with green algae (lumot); microscopic structure of Lyngbya crosbyanum, a common green freshwater alga, magnified 50x under the Low Power Objective (LPO) of a compound microscope. AVR

 5. The enduring beauty of Black &  White photography will stay in spite of the breakthrough in digital photography and wireless technology. The tunnel effect towards the source of light gives the needed hope for these children in war-torn Europe during the second World War. (Time-Life)

6. Nature is perhaps the most popular application of photography, surpassing human portraits and events.  Here the details of shy creatures like the land snail, (African snail), and hatchlings soft-shelled turtle are revealed for biological study. 

 7. Skyscape is classified as landscape. The rainbow is perhaps the most photographed skyscape, followed by the many figures created by clouds. These views were photographed on the highway in Batangas at around five o'clock in the afternoon on September 21, 2012, which happens to be Autumnal Equinox.

A Travelogue on a Wall Mural of Nature

A Travelogue on a Wall Mural of Nature 

Make believe scene but it exists outside the wall; 

don't delay, go find it to where it truly lies 

before the cruel hand takes its toll

in the name of progress in disguise.

Photos and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Queenie 8. poses before a wall mural painted by the author 

at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente Ilocos Sur.

Make believe scene but it exists outside the wall;

go find it to where it truly lies; 

don't delay before the cruel hand takes its toll

in the name of progress in disguise. 

Overlooking the Underground River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

It's A River of No Return, as the old song goes.  

But to where does it go, where does it end?

Would it ever find time along the way to pause? 

It tells, we all pass this way but once, my friend.

Queenie In the midst of a tropical rainforest

If ever there's a semblance of Milton's Paradise 
Lost and Regained here on  Earth,
it's the rainforest biome in diversity and size,
greatly reduced  to a dearth. 

Yawning crevice, Pinsal Falls (Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur) in summer.

What is beauty is indeed abstract in any definition,
even a weathered cliff foretelling its demise
is beautiful: dry in summer, rampaging in monsoon;
it's the same to the innocent or to the wise.  

Hundred Islands (Alaminos, Pangasinan)

Sitting on one of the islands makes her a Gulliver
in Lilliput as they appear from the air
like gems strewn over, but would they last forever?
It doesn't matter to the lovely and fair. ~ 

Malunggay - Manna from Heaven

Malunggay - Manna from Heaven

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Miracle tree vegetable - the most nutritious green food (Moringa oleifera). 

Pods and leaves are prepared into various popular recipes.

There are many things that come to us through Providence that we can describe as “Manna from Heaven.”

We have so far survived two pessimistic predictions which are two hundred years apart: first, the Malthusian Theory of Catastrophe – rapid population growth to outstrip the world’s resources (1789), and second, Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock – the “disease” that accompany rapid technological change (1970).

Both prophesies jolted us sitting on the bench of the so-called good life. Social and economic transformation brought us to a modern world, and industrialization’s accelerated thrust catapulted us to a post-modern world,we call Post-modernism. Long before these global events happened, the ancient world saw the rise and fall of civilizations in a prototype pattern characteristic of the prophesies of Malthus and Toffler. The most celebrated of such event was the fusion and sudden collapse of the Greco-Roman Empire. Surprisingly however, the Greco-Roman culture became the model of the Renaissance in the 15th century, and the centuries that followed, including our present one.

All of these tested the resilience of mankind. Apparently, we were able to disprove the Malthusian Theory through Green Revolution in the sixties and seventies doubling or tripling agricultural production. We opened new territories, invaded the sea and converted wastelands to farmlands, while science and technology vastly improved production efficiency, and created new varieties and breeds of plants and animals.

We too, have survived the Cold War which lasted for fifty long years. Since the nineties, nations formerly polarized by the ideologies of free capitalism and socialism have merged into a “global village.” Never in history has the world turned into a common path of cultural, social, and economic globalization.

Now we are engaged in another great upheaval. We are experiencing the worse economic crisis since the Great Depression of America in the twenties and thirties. It is history repeating itself. The ghost of Malthus has returned, haunting us with gloom scenarios of worldwide miseries. Our population now 6.7 billion continues to increase in geometric proportion, while the availability and costs of goods and services are spiraling beyond the reach of the masses. Meantime the environment continues to deteriorate from the deleterious by-products of industrialization - pollution. We are destroying the base of production itself.

It is as if we are in a neo-exodus crossing a bigger desert this time, involving a thousand-fold throng, seeking deliverance as we strive to reach “the land of plenty.” The way is long and uncertain because it seems to be uncharted - ironically amidst a revolution in knowledge we quite often describe as “technology age,” “information highway,” “space age,” “cyberspace,” “electronic age.” Actually we do not need all of these in our search for that Promised Land.

Manna from Heaven may have a number of interpretations, from hoarfrost on grass at daybreak, to honey-like secretion of insects. It could be the crust of lichen or mycellia of a mushroom, or gum tapped from tamarisk, a legume tree growing in the desert. Researchers found other possible sources of Manna, which include the Manna Ash, a native to southern Europe and Southwest Asia.

In our sojourn to that Promised Land we find along our way a variety of manna that we can assure ourselves that “we shall not want.” We liken our native malunggay tree to the tamarisk or the Manna Ash. We have a diverse source of short- growing food crops we barely cultivate which like hoarfrost and honeydew become available at daybreak as we begin another day of travel. And like the biblical bread and fish during the Sermon on the Mount, there are manna that multiply with people’s faith and effort with the blessing of Providence.

Certainly there are the likes of the deliverer Moses in our midst. We greet and salute them. Above all, we join them in their campaign. Yes, we can find that Promised Land. And we shall not want along the way.

I congratulate Dr. Domingo D. Tapiador and Mr. Dell H. Grecia not only for writing this book, but for the examples they set in their lives as true leaders and Christians, their exemplary scholarship and professionalism, notwithstanding. I join the reader in using this book as an everyday guide in our journey to the Promised Land.~

Foreword: Manna from Heaven Volume 1 and 2

A Little Princess in the Woods

 A Little Princess in the Woods

She wears a smile sweet and fresh

as Nature is pure and pristine;

how miss others girls in their prime

ensconced in city living. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Princess befriends an orangutan in its abode at the edge of a rainforest, where, too, reside a boa constrictor, some rodents, birds in their roosts, ground insects and other creatures. Mural painted by the author at the Living with Nature Center. San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 2019