Notes from the Author. I went to the Avilon Zoo in Montalban, Rizal a few years back. The Avilon Zoo was started by Mr. Jake Gaw who was an animal hobbyist. Currently, the Avilon Zoo is now the largest zoological park in the Philippines.
AVILONZoO
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Visited on March 2007. Visit: http://avilonzoo.com.ph/
Notes from the Author. Verde Island is located in the province of Batangas. It is recognized as a popular diving spot. In fact, the Verde Island Passage is named as the “Centre of Centre of Marine Biodiversity.”
To get there, you need to take a 45-minute boat trip to the resort itself from another beach.
I’ve taken a few pictures of the resort, but I think this place is visited mostly for the marine life down below.
Find out more: http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com/verde-island-diving.html
Notes from the author. A beach in Batangas which I feel is worth visiting. What can you do here? Aside from lazing out in the sun and swimming, they have playing fields for beach volleyball and basketball. They have large grounds for team building activities and you can also engage in several watersports activities such as snorkeling and kayaking.
The Beach
Stay in one of their tree houses.
Team building grounds…
And what’s a beach without a beautiful sunset. 
Find out more on their website: http://www.laiyacocogrove.com/
Notes from the Author. Who would have thought that there is a nature park in the middle of Quezon City?
Last September, we held our ad photoshoot with Kuya Kim Atienza at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature , located in Quezon Avenue, Diliman QC. The park is government property and managed by DENR.
The park is about 65 hectares of land. It’s a temporary shelter for rescued animals such as birds, reptiles, pigs and deers. It also has a botanical garden and a man-made lagoon.
It’s place to hold picnics and fieldtrips within Metro Manila.
“Behind the scenes” shoot
“ Barkada” chikitings. Our tiny models
This turtle is a family pet. Kuya Kim Atienza brought his pets to the shoot as extras.
This turtle had more attention than anybody else. 
Notes from the Author. I took a one-day nature photography workshop at the Hidden Valley Springs in Alaminos, Laguna. Subject matter is nature.
Photography classes were held by the Filipinas Heritage Library of Ayala Foundation.
Here are my best photos. A bit amateurish, but I got good feedback on my fern leaf composition. :)
Theses photos were taken using a Nikon D700 and my Casio Point & Shoot digicam.
Hidden Valley is known for it’s natural springs which range from hot, cold and soda water. It also boasts of it’s forest of huge fruit trees, some of which are more than 300 years old. It also has a variety of tropical shrubs and flowering plants. There’s a walking trail to the forest which leads to a medium sized waterfall.
