Woman of the Earth: Get to know Miss Philippines Earth 2020 Roxanne Baeyens
Roxanne Allison “Roxie” Baeyens is the country’s representative to the Miss Earth 2020 pageant, which will be held virtually on Nov. 29, Sunday, due to restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Born and raised in Baguio City, Roxie learned to love nature and care for the environment at a very young age as she grew up in a family of environmentalists and agriculturists. Her upbringing also drove her to pursue her advocacies on urban gardening and agriculture.
Her mother, Julia, is a real estate broker and environmentalist from Catengan in Besao, Mountain Province; and her father, Walter, is a retired IT specialist from Brussels. She is the youngest of three siblings.
Roxie graduated with a degree in Tourism Management from Saint Louis University in Baguio and was a dean’s lister.
The 23-year-old’s passion for the arts got her into ballet and theater when she was younger. Today, she is a commercial model and an aspiring actress, represented by Cornerstone Entertainment.
Before joining Miss Earth, the Filipino-Belgian stunner won Miss Face of Tourism in 2019 and represented the Philippines to the Miss Tourism and Culture Universe 2019 in Yangon, Myanmar where she placed first runner-up.
An ‘Eco Angel’ of the country and the earth
If all human beings are responsible stewards of the earth, it’s only fitting that—through Miss Earth—ambassadors be named to actively promote and be involved in its preservation and protection.
“Guardianship of the earth is assigned to humankind so each of us has a role to play,” Roxie said in her Miss Earth 2020 profile video.
The pandemic made Roxie push further for her advocacies of urban gardening and agriculture as she believes that these could lift the lives of many during these dark times by “providing food on our tables, giving nutrition to boost our immune system, improving air quality, and helping livelihood through sustainability.”
Determined and motivated to champion her environmental causes, Roxie is now working as a volunteer in the Department of Agriculture’s “Plant, Plant, Plant” program in the Cordillera Administrative Region; and with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ national greening program.
An animal lover, Roxie knew that with the pandemic stray animals are also deeply affected, including pets whose owners may be struggling to put food on their table. So, she stepped up and started a mini-feeding drive that she did out of pocket at first. This inspired her to launch a fundraising initiative called “Stray-t From the Heart,” which aims to feed stray animals and pets in need during the pandemic.
Recently, she did a “Live Selling for a Cause” with her friends to help the victims of Typhoon Ulysses in Cagayan.
As a woman of the earth, Roxie is hopeful that, as the pandemic continues to be in our midst, people would act together to take care of the earth believing that as humans, “our collective voices are powerful.”
With her new and bigger platform with Miss Earth, Roxie urges the public: “It is time to go back to the basics and value what we have more, be kind to mother nature and to everyone around as, let us all rise as we heal as one.”
Banner photos by Patrick Miel (center) and Leslie Reyes and Bryan Reyes from www.instagram.com/roxieebae