Bgy Salvacion plants 8,000 young bakawan

A collage of pictures from the tree planting gig at Baranggay Salvacion last Saturday. – Photo courtesy of ARTEM ANDAYA, Member-Mambulao SB

By ARTEM ANDAYA

A WEEKEND tree-planting sortie at Baranggay Salvacion in Mambulao, CamNorte saw a massive 8,000 young bakawan trees being transplanted into the local mangrove area.

Just before the activity took off last Saturday, the leaders of the group were only expecting to transplant 4,000 young trees.

The tree-planting initiative was led by baranggay chairman Enrico Solis, with volunteers from the Philippine National Police-Mambulao unit, Bantay-Dagat and Radiance of God’s Ministries, Inc.

Also involved were representatives from the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) and some recruitment/employment agencies who were in town for the jobs fair organized by the local government.

The weekend mangrove exercise was part of the local government’s bid to grow about one million trees in some 2,000ha of denuded forests and mangroves.

The target number of trees is programmed to be achieved within three years.

The LGU said that it hopes to plant about 300,000 young trees every year.

Planting materials are being propagated at the municipal nurseries in baranggay Pag-asa, Salvacion and other coastal communities, and in areas were denuded forest would be replanted.

Salvacion is one of the 27 baranggays in the western district of the municipality.

Local officials said that the community’s mangrove areas had been denuded mostly by commercial charcoal makers and firewood gatherers.

Mayor Ricarte Padilla praised and thanked the volunteer groups involved in the weekend activities.

The initial planting activity took place at Sitio Tabadyak, Bgy San Jose last Thursday, as a kick-starter to the one-million-tree drive by the local government, which officially began last Saturday at Bgy Pag-asa.

Volunteers busy themselves transplanting young bakawan seedlings on the shoreline of Bgy San Jose last Thursday to kick-start the massive tree-planting exercise of the Mambulao government targeting one million trees over three years. - Photo courtesy of ARTEM ANDAYA, Member/Mambulao SB

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