KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/15 June) — With two weeks to go, the city government on Friday urged more volunteers to participate in the second “Tree Growing Festival” that aims to plant 250,000 trees in various villages here.
Mayor Peter B. Miguel said they hope the tree planting activity on June 29 will be as successful as last year, in which some 30,000 people joined.
“We are trying to double the record we had last year,” he said, noting the tree planting activity is in line with the National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Various species of forest and fruit trees will be planted in 1,000 hectares in the different villages of the city, particularly in the Quezon Mountain Range.
In an effort to instill a culture of caring for the environment, the city government said it is targeting to double last year’s record of 131,028 forest and fruit trees planted in 522.
78 hectares to 250,000 in 1,000 hectares this year.
“The Tree Growing Festival is just one among the major efforts of this city in its environmental advocacies. We know how important trees are if we are to preserve and protect our environment,” Miguel said.
“This year, the 2nd Tree Growing Festival will be bigger and will cover more areas for us to send a concrete message that we are very serious in addressing our basic environmental concerns,” he added.
Miguel appealed for stronger support from all employees of the city government, regional government offices, non-government organizations, civic groups, academic community, business establishments and residents to make the event a success.
Koronadal City is the capital of South Cotabato and the seat of government of Region 12.
The city government has set up registration centers for volunteers in major department stores in the locality.
Miguel said that community extension workers have been hired to monitor the growth of the trees. (Bong Sarmiento/MindaNews)