Regalo ng Kilit: A Regenerative Promise in Coron’s Canopy

The Rotary Club of Passport One Marikina (RCPOM) and One Gallery partners with Kingfisher Park Coron for the “Regalo ng Kilit” project, which isn’t only about protecting a bird or saving a patch of forest. It’s a community-driven, regenerative farming initiative that combines conservation, education, and livelihood opportunities in Coron, Palawan.

The Kilit: A Bird with a Complicated Story

Kingfisher Park is more than a scenic stop on a tour; it’s a living sanctuary pulsing with life. Among its residents is the Kilit, a small, vibrant bird whose presence serves as a barometer of the park’s health. The Kilit plays a crucial role in seed dispersal and forest regeneration. Its flights stitch together patches of woodland, a quiet choreography that sustains diverse species and keeps the forest resilient in the face of climate stress.

Yet the Kilit hasn’t always enjoyed universal love. In farming communities surrounding the Kingfisher Park, the bird has sometimes earned the label of pest - its appetite steering it toward crops and away from appreciation. The “Regalo ng Kilit” project doesn’t pretend that the friction isn’t real. It leans into it, reframing the Kilit as a partner in a broader mission: protect the forest, foster coexistence, and translate ecological services into tangible community benefits. It’s a gift that keeps giving - livelihoods, health, and education - through the support of Rotary and its partners.

A Three-Pronged Act of Service: Conserve, Educate, Regenerate

The “Regalo ng Kilit” is organized around three interlocking pillars, each feeding the others in a virtuous loop of action and learning.

1. Protecting forests and wildlife through community education

Education is the entry point and the long arc of the project. The team collaborates with local schools, barangays, and community groups to foster a shared, practical understanding of why protecting the Kilit and the Kingfisher Park forest is important. Interactive workshops, bird-watching outings, and field-based conservation lessons bring the Kilit’s life and its forest allies into view, making the Kilit’s world both visible and meaningful.

2. Regenerative Farming in schools and communities

Kingfisher Park General Manager, Engr. Manuel R. Reyes, PhD, is an expert in agricultural engineering & regenerative farming, and teaches at Kansas State University and other top universities in the United States. The regenerative farming concept sits at the heart of Regalo ng Kilit’s vision for Coron’s food security. It’s not a trendy buzzword; it’s a philosophy that treats soil as a living partner. The Kingfisher Park communities in Coron experienced food security during the pandemic due to Dr. Reyes’s regenerative farming efforts. The program promotes soil health, biodiversity, and resilience through practices such as composting, cover cropping, reduced tillage, agroforestry, and integrated pest management. The aim is simple yet ambitious: to produce healthier yields with fewer chemical inputs, support diverse ecosystems, and replenish the soil’s thirst for health.

RCPOM will plant and steward community gardens in select schools and barangays. These aren’t mere patches of land; they’re living laboratories where students grow, observe, and learn the rhythms of regenerative farming. They’ll see first-hand how soil, water, crops, and wildlife connect—proof of concept that sustainable food production can be both productive and ethical.

3. Storytelling, books, and media that amplify impact

Stories are the bridges between science and everyday life. In collaboration with One Gallery and author Mayumi Cruz, the “Regalo ng Kilit” will publish the storybook, entitled “A Kilit Bird named Mayumi,” a storybook that follows the Kilit’s journey through Coron’s landscapes. The book isn’t just a tale; it’s a tool for understanding how a small bird can drive forest restoration and community resilience.

The story will be distributed to schools and integrated into the curriculum, providing educators with a ready-made narrative that aligns with science. In addition, RCPOM and One Gallery will produce documentary videos that will spotlight the Kilit, Kingfisher Park, and Coron’s people, capturing the real, human faces of conservation and regenerative farming. These films are designed to travel beyond Coron’s shores, inviting other organizations and Rotary Clubs to join the “Regalo ng Kilit” mission.

Gifts that keep giving: livelihoods, health, and education

Regalo ng Kilit is grounded in the belief that conservation must yield social and economic value for local communities. The “gifts” come bundled through Rotary-led actions and partner networks:

Livelihoods: Community gardens, regenerative plots, and agroforestry projects offer stable harvests and new revenue opportunities. By aligning farming with forest stewardship, families gain resilient incomes and a stake in protecting the Kilit’s habitat.

Health and social services: Medical missions and access to essential health services become part of the fabric, ensuring that environmental action is paired with human well-being.

Educational support: School educational materials and activities help young people explore forestry, agriculture, science, and leadership. This is not charity; it’s an investment in a generation that will sustain Coron’s ecosystems and communities.

The Kilit becomes more than a symbol; it’s a catalyst for a cycle of benefits that touch daily life.

A Closing Vision: Coron’s transformative moment

Picture Coron ten years from now. The forests are healthier; the Kilit’s chorus fills the mornings; and schoolyards buzz with students tending regenerative beds, harvesting vegetables, and sharing stories about a bird once misunderstood who became a catalyst for renewal. A documentary crew returns to Kingfisher Park to find a community that no longer sees the forest as a barrier but as a partner in daily life and prosperity.

Regalo ng Kilit isn’t a one-off event; it’s a lifelong invitation. It invites teachers, parents, farmers, students, and Rotarians worldwide to participate in a regenerative journey that begins with protecting a small bird and evolves into a broader movement for sustainable living.

Ask a Rotarian why this work matters, and the answer is written in the forest’s breath and the children’s laughter: because the Kilit’s wings carry more than a bird’s song—they carry a future. And that future, nurtured by education, community gardens, and the regenerative arts of farming, is already taking shape in Coron, ready to be shared with the world. 

Project Title: Regalo ng Kilit program

Date: June 28-29, 2025 (Medical and Dental Mission), June 30-July 1, 2025 (Community Immersion at Kingfisher Park communities)

Venue: Kingfisher Park, Coron, Palawan

Beneficiaries: 300 patients from the communities of Brgy. Malbato, Coron, Palawan