Oyster Hill and its treasure

LAGUINDINGAN Coinciding with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)s declaration of the month of May as Heritage Month, May 15, 2014 marked the date of the opening of Misamis Orientals latest ecotourism attraction Oyster Hill which is located in Lapad, Laguindingan town in Misamis Oriental.

Misamis Oriental governor Vicente Yevgeny Bambi Emano, Laguindingan mayor Oliver Ubaub and Dr. Erlinda M. Burton, curator of the Xavier University Museum graced the provinces new eco-tourism destination.

CAGAYAN DE ORO. A display of fossilized oyster shell. (Contributed photo)

While visitors can enjoy the sites clean, fresh air in the hills landscape, nothing could be more beautiful than the seemingly unassuming pieces of limestone at the base of a hill, Oyster Hills fossilized oyster colony.

What makes it special is preserving the colony of fossilized oysters as a natural heritage.

Like all great inventions and discoveries, it was discovered by accident, shares Engr. Raul B. Ilogon.

CAGAYAN DE ORO. Misamis Oriental governor Yevgeny Vicente Emano and Dr. Erlinda Burton, curator of Xavier University Museum put their palms on a wet cement to mark the opening of the Oyster Hill heritage place in Barangay Lapad in Laguindingan town in Misamis Oriental. (Contributed photo)

Fossils were first discovered in 1993 by Raul while he had been clearing the land to plant mango trees. Unfortunately, tourism and environmental awareness had still been in its developing stage and the family had at that time been unaware that they had stumbled upon pre-historic treasures, so many of the fossils and giant clams had been used as decorative items at their family restaurant. Emano, in his speech, thanked the family for this contribution to the province. He also shares that while he has personal interest in this natural heritage and furthered that the province is luck to have it readily available unlike in foreign countries where they pay for archaeologists to dig and find fossils.

CAGAYAN DE ORO. Dr. Erlinda Burton, curator of Xavier University Museum and who confirmed the authenticity of the fossilized oyster colony in Barangay Lapad, tells the visitors about the fossil oyster colony during the Oyster Hill inauguration in Barangay Lapad in Laguindingan town in Misamis Oriental on May 15. (Contributed photo)

Emano is optimistic that despite looming difficulty to sell it as a new eco-tourism destination, it would pay off in the future.

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Oyster Hill and its treasure