More Native Trees Planted Along SLEX

Quezon City– Motorists will find their ride more enjoyable and safer as over 3,600 additional trees were planted on Saturday along the roadsides of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) – southbound lane from Kimberly Overpass to Saimsim Road Overpass – as part of a private sector-led “greening” initiative supported by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The DENR in a statement said it provided 3,608 seedlings of Palawan cherry, alibangbang, bilitbitan, banaba, golden shower and narra for the annual roadside tree-planting activity spearheaded by the Rotary Club International, in partnership with the Career Executive Service Board and the South Luzon Tollways Corp.

This brings to 18,423 the total number of native tree seedlings planted by the group since 2010, with a survival rate of 80 percent.

DENR Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said the annual event was a “valuable contribution” to the National Greening Program (NGP), the Aquino administration’s flagship reforestation program that seeks to cover 1.5 million hectares with trees by 2016.

He said the tree-planting activity promotes road safety, fosters a healthier ecology along the expressway, and enhances the road’s aesthetic value.

“Beyond the visual pleasure these trees give to motorists is the ‘gift’ they provide in terms of road safety given their role as natural windbreakers, and for improving the SLEX’s micro-climate,” Paje said.

He said the trees provide shade, absorb car engine emissions and increase the amount of oxygen in the area.

Paje, meanwhile, cited the SLTC’s role in ensuring high survival rate of the planted trees. “The real challenge is in the growing of these planted seedlings,” Paje said.

Based on DENR’s monitoring, those planted in 2010 now stand from six to eight feet tall in height. The trees, mostly narra and bilitbitan, are found along the roadsides lining the stretch of the Calamba-Sto. Tomas exits.

As president of Rotary Club of Makati-Rockwell, former DENR Undersecretary Rolando Metin, came up with the idea of the SLEX-greening project as a response to the organization’s thrust to promote greater green consciousness among its ranks by mobilizing all member clubs under Rotary International District 3830 for the planting and growing of trees that are endemic to the Philippines along the SLEX.

The Rotary district consists of 85 clubs in the cities of Makati, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Taguig, Pateros, and some parts of the provinces of Rizal and Palawan. (DENR)