RUN 2 PLANT: Students Tapped to Ensure 100-Percent Growth of Trees

With Cebu having only 0.6 percent in forest cover, San Fernando, Cebu has vowed to ensure that all 7,000 seedlings planted during the Run 2 Plant activity last September 9 in the town’s Brgy. Greenhills would grow into mature trees.

To achieve this, pupils of Brgy. Greenhill’s and neighbouring Barangay Sangat’s public elementary schools and high schools would be tapped to nurture 10 trees each for the next three years.

This would also be each pupil’s compliance to Presidential Decree 1153, which requires the Department of Education to have each student plant 10 seedlings.

“We will make planting a habit,” said San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya, in promising to monitor the planting site for the next three to five years, alarmed that Cebu only has less than one percent in forest cover.

Forester Alona Villarojo, head of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), said that having acknowledging the problem, the Capitol has partnered with RAFI in the last six years to mitigate the loss of forest cover in the province.

That is why Governor Hilario Davide III has also issued an executive order enjoining all local government units of Cebu, not just San Fernando, to likewise conduct simultaneous tree-planting activities last September 9.

Run 2 Plant is an annual environmental advocacy of the Cebu Provincial Government, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Cebu local government units, and private stakeholders to promote good health among people by running and health of the environment by planting native trees.

The main run of this year’s Run 2 Plant was in San Fernando, where an estimated seven hectares of land were planted with fruit-bearing trees.

Planting trees in Cebu is very important since the ideal forest cover is supposedly 60 percent of the total land area, or 305,280 hectares of Cebu’s 508,800 hectares. Cebu, however, only has 2,000 hectares in forest cover.

RAFI Forester Niña Okay said it is a win-win situation for the students and the Run 2 Plant organizers to have the pupils nurture the newly-planted seedlings since they would be able to comply with the directive of PD 1153 and having someone monitor the plants is also assured at the same time.

“Balik-balikan nila ang mga tanom for three years and i-monitor nila every quarter pila nay height and diameter sa mga tanom. Kini nga data gamiton nato pag-determine pila na ang na-sequester nga carbon dioxide,” she said.

To encourage lot owners to monitor and take care of the trees, the local government of San Fernando agreed to their request that what would be planted in their lots were fruit-bearing trees.

Villarojo said the province provided seedlings for fruit-bearing trees like guyabano, cacao and jackfruit.

Around 1,500 participants, comprising San Fernando and Capitol employees, private companies’ workers, barangay officials, church parishioners, Department of Education personnel, and other interested individuals joined the annual activity.