Climate Change, NGP Survival Rate, & WasteGardening

More than 400 students and alumni of the PMI Colleges learned about tree planting and gardening with limited resources through the Graduation Legacy Tree Planting and Wastegardening workshop April 13 at the EMB-NCR and Conservation and Development Division Eco Park. The activity is enforcing the Graduation Legacy for Reforestation and Arbor Day laws of the Philippines. Both laws mandate the youth starting at age 12 to plant a tree every year with the former requiring all graduating elementary, high school, and college students to plant at least 10 trees each as a prerequisite for graduation.

Two skills are targeted in the said activity: plant trees and reduce wastes. Participants were taught how to make shovel and tiller from shampoo or lotion bottle, pots from water gallons, and soil from waste food, papers, leaves, wood shavings, pet stools, and peels from fruits and vegetables. 

The Forest Management Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its agencies have been doing their best to implement the said laws with ever ready tree saplings  of mainly native varieties to meet targeted outcomes. The FMB provided in part the fruit tree saplings in said activity. 

The Graduation Legacy tree planting was launched in May 2022 with around 150 participating Environmental Science students in Mariano Marcos State University. The second event was conducted February 15-16 at the Amphitheater of Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife, with St. Mary's College students and Quezon City barangay volunteers. This third event was made possible with the concerted efforts of PMI Colleges Quezon City, Manila, and alumni, DENR NCR Reg. Director Jacqueline Caancan, Bituen Eco Volunteers, CDD's Art Calderon, EMB-NCR's Annabelle Wahing, CDD's Aiza Cortez, Irma Daanoy, PMI Colleges OSA Dir. Amylita Luzaran, Dean Crisanto Raymond Cordova, Edna Cañero, Jezriel Fundal, Councilor Nikki Crisologo, and resource speaker Margaret Tadeja of #MMSU Press!

The organizers also hope to partner with both non-profit or even informal groups like bikers, the MMDA, and private entities to create more green spaces in the Metro and its cities. 

The FMB has acknowledged problems about the National Greening Program, tree planting, and the many variations of climate change initiatives include the low survival rate of planted trees due to lack of water sources and the work force to nurture the plants from watering, fertilizing, and to ensuring the trees will grow to their independent maturity. LGUs and the private sector are then encouraged to provide more workforce in the cultivation and support for water outlets when it comes to tree planting.