Jethro J. Arsenio
Jodylyn M. Quijano-Arsenio
Background of the Study
 For the past five years the De
La Salle Philippines (DLSP)
through the Lasallian Institute
for the Environment (LIFE)
and the Tertiary Education
Commission (TEC), has
sponsored an annual Ecology
Camp or Ecocamp .
 8 of the 17 affiliated schools
have been sending Ecocamp
participants.
Significance of the Study
• Not only to the school administrators of De La Salle
Philippines but for other HEIs which are planning to
incorporate environmental awareness in their
curriculum.
• School administrators of these participating campuses
will have basis in crafting school policies that would
further strengthen environmental awareness and
concerns.
• The results of this study are very interesting since
environmental issues are important for most young
people
Literature Review
 According to Alkin (2004 as cited in Leeuw & Furubo,
2008) the conduct of evaluation will give four
benefits. First, it produces relevant knowledge that
would help make better decisions. Second, it
provides assurance and make things under control.
Third, it produces information that confirms rather
than questions policies and lastly, it breeds
evaluation system.
 The ultimate goal of environmental education
whether it is formal or non-formal is to create
awareness (Shobeiri, Omidvar and Prahallada, 2007)
and this can be done by employing different tactics
such as nature camps and seminars (Rider, 2005, as
cited in Özden, 2008).
Research Methodology
Sample
 Target population was the students and
teachers/facilitators who participated in the fourday Ecocamp 2009 in De la Salle Canlubang (DLSC), Canlubang, Laguna last May 5-8, 2009.
 A total of 50 students and 10 facilitators attended
and received the questionnaire but retrieval rate
was 88% only.
Measures
• The first part of the questionnaire consisted of the
profile of the respondents.
• The second part of the questionnaire measured the
level of awareness of students in environmental
principles and ecological concepts.
• The third part of the questionnaire asked the students
and facilitators about their lifestyle affecting plants,
animals and other life forms including other
ecosystem components such as air, land, water, and
energy.
• The last part of the questionnaire used five point
Likert scale to ask students’ over-all satisfaction of the
four days nature camp.
Results and Discussions
Table 1: Profile of the Ecocamp Participants and Facilitators
STUDENTS
Campus
De La Salle University
De La Salle Araneta University
De La Salle University-Dasma
De La Salle Canlubang
DLS Health Sciences Institute
De La Salle Lipa
University of St. La Salle
Gender
Female
Male
First time to attend
Yes
No
Membership in envi org
Yes
No
7
8
9
5
7
6
2
%
15.91
18.18
20.45
11.36
15.91
13.64
4.55
27
17
FACILITATORS
2
%
20.00
4
1
2
1
40.00
10.00
20.00
10.00
61.36
38.64
7
3
70.00
30.00
39
5
88.64
11.36
5
5
50.00
50.00
11
33
25.00
75.00
6
4
60.00
40.00
 Campus. De La Salle University-Dasmariñas has
the highest number of student participants with
20.45%. The campus with the least number of
student participants came from University of St.
La Salle in Bacolod due to its remoteness from the
camp venue.
 Gender. Female facilitators was overrepresented
(70 %) with male facilitators comprising 30% only.
 Attendance in environmental camp.
Majority of the students (88.64%) attended
the environmental camp for the first time.
Half of the facilitators have already
experienced attending nature camp.
 Membership in environmental
organization. Three quarters of the
students are not members of any
environmental organization.
Table 1: Profile of the Ecocamp Participants and Facilitators
STUDENTS
Sources of Info
Outdoor experiences
University courses
Visit to places
Books, tv, news, media
Rel’p. with animals
Student’s Age
17
18
19
20
Above 20
Facilitators
below 30
30-34
35-39
40-44
31
25
16
40
9
7
15
11
6
5
N=44
%
25.62
20.66
13.22
33.06
7.44
15.81
34.09
25.00
13.64
11.36
FACILITATORS
8
5
6
7
1
29.63
18.52
22.22
25.93
3.70
5
1
3
1
50.00
10.00
30.00
10.00
N=10
 Sources of information. Results show that
the top sources of information among
students are books, tv, news and media with
33.06%. On the other hand, facilitators’
main source of information is outdoor
experiences (29.63%).
 Age. The mean age is 18.70. Fifty percent of
the facilitators in the camp are less than 30
years old.
Table 2: Comparison of the Students and Facilitators’ Lifestyles
towards Different Dimensions
STUDENTS
DIMENSIONS
A. Plants, animals
and other life forms
B. Air
C. Land
D. Water
E. Energy
Overall Weighted
Mean
FACILITATORS
Weighted Mean
Description
Weighted
Mean
Description
3.78
Very Often
4.14
Very Often
3.88
3.42
3.90
4.09
3.81
Very Often
3.84
4.34
4.36
4.44
4.22
Very Often
Very Often
Very Often
Very Often
Very Often
Always
Always
Always
Always
 The highest average weighted mean shown
for the students is in energy (4.09) followed
by their lifestyle affecting air (3.88), plants,
animals & other forms (3.78), and lastly,
land (3.42).
 The facilitators’ lifestyle always
demonstrates concern to the environment.
The average weighted mean in land (4.34),
water (4.36) and energy (4.44) falls within
the bracket of 4.20-5.
Table 3: ANOVA Results of the Overall Lifestyles of Students as to
Gender, First-timer in Camp and Membership in Environmental
Organization
IV
Dummy
Var.
Mean
Gender
Male (0)
Female
3.8206
3.7867
4.1360
3.7567
3.7452
Std.
Dev.
.54855
.43831
.29475
.48222
.47389
3.9636
.47344
Participation
>1 (= 0)
First-time (= 1)
Membership
Non-Member
(= 0)
Member (= 1)
F
p
.051
.822
2.916
.095
1.754
.192
 According to the results of one-way ANOVA in
Table 3, friendly lifestyles towards plants, air,
land, water, and energy have no significant
difference between male and female, those
who are first-time and not to attend nature
camp, and those who are members and nonmembers of environmental organizations.
Table 4: Students’ Awareness of Basic Environmental
Principles and Ecological Concepts
% of students with
QUESTIONS
Correct
answer
Incorrect
answer
1. An environmentally sustainable society meets
the current needs of its people for food, clean
water, clean air, shelter, and other basic
resources without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs.
84.09
15.91
2. Life on earth is sustained by the energy from
the sun.
90.91
9.09
3. The tragedy of commons explain that
resources that are freely available to everyone
can be depleted or degraded.
93.18
6.82
Table 4: Students’ Awareness of Basic Environmental
Principles and Ecological Concepts
% of students with
QUESTIONS
Correct
answer
Incorrect
answer
4. When a physical or chemical change occurs,
atoms are created or destroyed.
36.36
63.64
5. Heat is lost by infrared and heat radiation.
43.18
75.00
56.82
25.00
20.45
79.55
6. Examples of non-biodegradable pollutants are
Mercury and Arsenic. These are chemicals that
cannot be broken down by natural processes.
7. Habitat is a community of different species
interacting with one another and with their
physical environment of matter and energy.
Table 4: Students’Awareness of Basic Environmental Principles
and Ecological Concepts
% of students with
QUESTIONS
Correct
answer
Incorrect
answer
8. Endemic species are wild species with so few
individual survivors that these soon will become
extinct.
25.00
75.00
9. Biotic or living biological components include
plants, animals and microbes.
100.00
0.00
10. Omnivores feed on both plants and animals.
95.45
20.45
4.55
79.55
95.45
4.55
11. Biomass is a community of geographical
extent characterized by a distinctive landscape
based on the life forms of the climax dominants.
12. Each species in an ecosystem fills a unique
ecological role called its ecological niche.
Table 4: Students’ Awareness of Basic Environmental
Principles and Ecological Concepts
% of students with
QUESTIONS
Correct
answer
Incorrect
answer
13. Saltwater and freshwater aquatic life zones
cover almost ¾ of the earth’s surface.
97.73
2.27
14. Plant use carbon dioxide in the production of
protein and many other compounds.
11.36
88.64
15. Organic farming is a practice in which no
chemical are employed for weed or insect
control and the only fertilizers used are organic
matter such as manure and crushed limestone or
other rocks.
93.18
6.82
 The Cronbach alpha was computed as .5477
 Above 75% of them answered correctly nine
out of 15 questions. These are question
numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15.
 Less than 50% of the total number of
respondents answered correctly questions
number 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14.
TABLE 5: Results of Evaluation on Over-all Organization of
Ecocamp
Weighted
mean
Description
4.39
4.05
SA
WA
3. Camp discipline policies are reasonable
and well-defined.
4.25
SA
4. I feel secured with the medical and
security arrangements.
4.41
SA
5. Activities are within the Ecocamp’s
theme.
4.59
SA
1. I enjoyed the campsite.
2. There are enough facilities like
bathroom.
TABLE 5: Results of Evaluation on Over-all Organization of
Ecocamp
Weighted
mean
Description
6. There are enough activities that taught
me new concepts related to environment.
4.55
SA
7. The resource persons are knowledgeable
and effective speakers.
4.48
SA
8. There is enough free time and I used it
productively.
4.05
WA
9. The facilitators are helpful. They address
promptly our needs.
4.61
SA
10. Meals are balanced and are served on
time.
4.43
SA
Average Weighted Mean
4.38
SA
 It depicts the satisfaction rating of camp
participants in the overall aspects of the
Ecocamp. Except the provision of enough
facilities like bathroom and use of their free
time.
 Notably, they gave the highest rating (4.61)
to the facilitators whom they found very
helpful and always available.
Recommendations
1. There must be at least one environmental
organization in the campus.
2. Selection criteria be developed for the
Ecocamp participants.
3. Exposure to different places through field
trips and investigatory project.
4. Continuous acquisition of latest
environmental science books and
subscription to international and local
journals and magazines.
5. The people behind
Ecocamp should not only
be knowledgeable about environmental
principles and problems but they must be the
ones who enjoy working with students because
they could serve as their mentors and
inspirations.
6. For further study, it is recommended that
pretest and posttest be conducted among
Ecocamp participants to better gauge the input
of Ecocamp to them.