From Climate Learning to Campus Action: Team Ateneo Brings MAGISphere to YCLAP

Young people from nine (9) universities gathered at the Climate Change Commission’s (CCC) Youth Climate Leadership Accelerator Project (Youth CLAP) to learn about climate change, develop climate action solutions, and turn their ideas into projects. The program culminated in an Innovation Showcase on September 26, 2026 at the Philippine Normal University where participating teams presented their proposed innovations to a panel of judges.

Among the participating teams was Ateneo de Manila University, whose project, “MAGISphere”, uses digital engagement and citizen science to encourage students to discover and monitor biodiversity around the Loyola Heights campus.

From Understanding Climate Change to Developing Solutions

The first Youth CLAP session, held virtually on August 15, 2026, introduced participants to the foundations of climate action. Speakers discussed the science behind climate change, mitigation and adaptation, climate impacts and justice, and climate governance at the global, national, and local levels. Participants also explored nature-based solutions and the role of young people in climate action.

The second session, held onsite at Mapua University Makati Campus on August 22, 2026, shifted toward applying these concepts. Participants examined the costs and impacts of climate change, revisited their identified problems and learned about private-sector initiatives for climate action. The students also began developing their Campaign Canvases, identifying their goals, target audiences, activities, and approaches for monitoring their projects.

The third session, held virtually on August 29, 2026, further deepened participants’ understanding through discussions with experts in climate science, ecosystem management, youth development, and private-sector climate action. Participants consulted with mentors about their Innovation Showcase projects and worked on strengthening their pitches.

The following weeks focused on mentorship and project development. Participants refined their Campaign Canvases and prepared their pitch decks and concept notes in preparation for the culminating Innovation Showcase. We thank Jack Lorenz (Jlove), OSCI Binhi formator, for being our faculty companion and guiding us during the sessions.

Together, these sessions moved participants from understanding climate change to asking a more practical question: What can young people actually do about it?

For Team Ateneo, the answer took the form of a website, MAGISphere. 

Their project, MAGISphere, is an interactive biodiversity platform designed to make Ateneo’s trees and other species more visible, accessible, and engaging to students. The platform combines an interactive campus map, species guides, climate resilience information, and gamified activities. Students can explore biodiversity around campus, record observations, earn points and badges, and participate in challenges designed to encourage repeated engagement.

At its core, MAGISphere aims to turn ordinary walks around campus into opportunities to learn about and contribute to biodiversity monitoring.

The project also seeks to generate community-based biodiversity data that could eventually support conservation, planting, and maintenance efforts in coordination with relevant Ateneo offices, researchers, and environmental groups.

From the Website to the Innovation Showcase

On September 26, 2026, Team Ateneo brought MAGISphere to the Innovation Showcase at PNU, joining eight (8) other university teams in presenting their climate action proposals.

Representatives Katherine Leal and Nathanielle Sophia Alaethea Araneta delivered Team Ateneo’s pitch, while the team also presented the platform through its exhibition booth. Visitors and judges were introduced to MAGISphere’s mission and vision, as well as its four main components: Learn, Play, Explore, and Grow.

During the question-and-answer portion and the judges’ visit to the booth, the team received suggestions for expanding MAGISphere beyond biodiversity monitoring. Among the ideas raised were incorporating disaster risk reduction information, such as flood- and earthquake-risk areas and evacuation sites and eventually adapting the platform for other universities, parks, and areas across the Philippines.

The Innovation Showcase concluded with the awarding of certificates, badges, and special awards to the participating teams. Team Ateneo received the Excellence in Youth Engagement Award.

For Team Ateneo, the project continues beyond the Youth CLAP Showcase. MAGISphere is envisioned to be further developed and eventually integrated into campus activities, encouraging students to learn about native biodiversity while contributing to a growing record of species and observations around Ateneo.

Team Ateneo is composed of Alfonso A. Albano (3 BS AMDSc), Nathanielle Sophia Alaethea C. Araneta (3 BS LM), Sophia Aliza Caverte (3 AB MEC), Katherine G. Leal (2 BS BIO), Charisse M. Macapagal (3 BS APS-MSE), Aleij Jill L. Mendoza (3 BS CTM), Ivan B. Nite (3 AB MEC), Clariz Pillos (3 BS ES), and Mar Angelo N. Revelo (2 BS MGT). The innovation showcase was extended to interested students that are not part of the cohort: Linang Lumari Echanis (4 BS BIO), Marc Joshua S. Biala (3 BS BIO), and Antonie Ivette Degala (3 BS LSD). The project was guided by Ms Shenina Badua, from the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Social and Environmental Engagement for Development and Sustainability (OAVP-SEEDS).

Other participating schools are Mapua University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, Philippine Normal University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Quezon City University, Taguig City University, University of Santo Tomas, and University of the Philippines.

The student participants applied to be part of the cohort through the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Social and Environmental Engagement for Development and Sustainability (OAVP-SEEDS).