It was one of the most widely participated largescale planting activity steered by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Saturday.
Joy Galvez-Dominado, chairperson of the KBP-Nueva Ecija Chapter, said the activity was part of the nationwide simultaneous tree planting, an environmental advocacy of the organization that started in 2011.
In Nueva Ecija, she said, the activity was principally supported by the Department of Interior and Local Government,the Nueva Ecija police provincial office (NEPPO), the 7th Infantry Division of Philippine Army and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ provincial and community offices.
“Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon ay nagtanim tayo ng kawayang tinik dahil batay sa pag-aaral ang kawayang tinik ay nag-iipon ng tubig tuwing tag-ulan at nagre-release naman ng tubig tuwing tagaraw,” Dominado said, noting that the grass has a high survival rate in the area.
Major Decker Sabangan, head of the 7th Infantry Division’s Oplan Bambusa, a unit in charge of propagating bamboo inside the military reservation, explained that aside from being resistant to fire, bamboos also provides a continuity on the forestation program. “Ang mga puno na dati nang itinatanim, kapag pinutol ng kahit sino ay back to zero tayo samantalang ang kawayan, kahunain man ang ibang puno, mabilis itong magsusupling,” Sabangan added.
Students who came by hired buses and jeepneys endured over a kilometer of walk and climbed the mountain to plant propagules. They were first given an orientation on proper handling of the propagules to make sure every piece they will plant will survive.
Dominado tagged participants as heroes of environment.
