Ecosystem Restoration Philippines Project #54321

Join IP Children & Elders Replant 1000 Trees

by Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT), Inc.

Project Report | Sep 6, 2024
Catching on the Rainy Days

By Shen R. Maglinte | Project Leader

The Philippine Climatic condition has gone on both extremes. In our last month's report, we have shared the difficulties suffered especially by farmers during the long summer spell that stretched from early March up to June owing to El Nino. The rain has come as the Philippines enters the wet months season with heavy rains and storms. Flooding is prevalent In the lowland areas and the cities with clogged drainages brought by plastic trash. The rainy season on the other hand is most desired when it comes to planting crops of all sorts. For this project, this is an opportune time to transfer planting the seedlings to optimize the avialability of water.

Hence, the replanting activities are catching up the rainy days. Seedlings have greater chance of survival with least attendance when the weather is cool and water is abundant especially during the growth stage of the tree seedlings. Survival is high and chances are, the roots of the newly planted seedings are established firmly underneath. There's a strong possibility that should the trees grow tall, it can withstand the pressure of storm winds. It would have the capacity to hold eroded soil and its root network intertwining with other root systems of neighboring trees make a formidable fortress for a robust watershed area.

While waiting for the rains to come, we have already expanded the nursery to cultivate seedings on polyethelyn bags. Again, the community members among them children and elders are taking turns in ensuring that the nurseries will have healthy planting materials ready to be planted in next patches of the depleted watershed areas.

Aside from mobilizing the children, youth and elders in building up the nurseries and securing tree planting materials, they are capacitated as well in gaining more knowledge on the importance of protecting and saving the watershed. Most of the children are aware that forest burning is ocurring during hot summer months and unfortunately it is is deliberately done by people who are not aware of dire consequences when forest are consumed by fire. More importantly, children are made aware that if these are not prevented, the efforts and long hours and diligence they have spent on reqrowing the forest will come to naught. They will be back to square one, and the losses are enormous. Teaching the young on forest conservation and the huge amount of benefit it will accrue them is part of this replanting effort.

Again we thank you so much for your continued support. To date already, we have covered close to 5 hectares of planted areas. This may still be small compared to large hectarage still to be covered but with continuous efforts and community cooperation, the greening back of the watershed will slowly be achieved little by little. It is worth noting also that once trees have grown, birds also make their abode on their canopies and eat their seeds as food. Some fall to ground or are carried away in some other areas. This will help in the propagation of the tree species. With the abundant rains chances are this will have great survival oppotunities.

So again thank you for your continued support to this undertaking. Your are part of the effort and the community is grateful that you find time to share your blessings to them and the environment they are living , protecting and rehabilitating.

Thank you very much!

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May 11, 2024
Still Planting Against the Long Drought

By Shen R. Maglinte | Project Leader

It is worrisome these past months when the long drought dried up most vegetations. The withered grassess and shrubs are becoming highly combustable. The intense solar rays can sometimes ignite these grasses and causing wildfires. Often we take it as probable causes of fires we have observed when some portions suddenly starts to burn. Fires break out also out of negligence and are due to thrown cigarette butts. Some folks say others are doing it intenstionally to clear the dead grasses so that new shrubs can grown when the rain comes. Luckily though these happens in areas whose geological foundations are rock based and no big trees can thrive except for some shurbs and grasses. These are steepy slopes inaccessible for human and animals. It will still be dangerous though being inaccessible, there's little control how the commuity can prevent the fires from speading to other areas from there.

The community has been more vigilant at this time to preserve the growing trees planted last year tll the present. Their means of control is the utilization of the "lappat" system, a customary law to protect their natural resources. This may include applying regulations such as not cutting of trees and prohition of burning grasses or irresponsible disposals of cigarettes still lit up. The community works close with the local barangay with authority to enact resolutions and ordinances for natural resource protection. They are also tapping the local disaster prepareness program where fire prevention is foremost in their activities. This is given that wildfires are commonly occuring during the summer months.

Along this, the community still continue to do their usual replanting despite the hot season. Part of the activities of the school, children are still required to plant a tree as part of their activitity in school. This is very important for the children to put into practice the lesson on environmental protection being taught them. Also as the next generation of stewards, they will already learn this early the value of planting trees to save their deteriorating watershed.

Again we ask for your continued support, so that we can cover more areas to be planted. This is an on going activity and your support to this project means being part of saving a portion of the vast ecosystem in this part of the Cordillera mountains, our last frontiers in terms of forest preservation and protection . Thank you very much for your generosity and concern. Sending you the community's heartfelt gratitude. God Bless!

Links:

Helping IP elders and children plant a thousand trees

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Jan 17, 2024
Expanding from a Typhoon-less 2023

By Shen R. Maglinte | Project Leader

Hi everyone, this report supposedly due last December has been delayed being overtaken by other events. Nevertheless, rest assured but our tree planting activities continue what with the vast expanse of areas to be covered still. During the last quarter of the year, women, elderly youth and children continue to regulary do the community social forestry work. This means searching for naturally-growing tree species, nuturing these for a time in makeshift nursery before replanting.

Likewise, after more than a year, the replanted specifies has gained rooting and their survival certainty already assured. Hence the community people are continually moving to the next patches where scald areas are vulnerable to erosion. Luckily in 2023, the storms hitting the Philippines though appearing strong at the onset weakens upon entering the PHilippine area of responsibility, or just made flybys without touching ground. This greatly spared areas from enormous damage. The replanted area in our project site have enjoyed the benefits of less disruption as regards the continued growth of those earlier planted. Also, much of the sites were spared from flood and erosion that sometimes overrun seedlings newly planted.

We can say in 2023, we are gaining good inroads in replanting and currently has covered about 5 hectares of open spaces composed of undulating, hilly and steep slope areas. We are looking forward to have a growth tree survival of 75 to 85 percent at most. Despite changes in local weather, 2023 has been favorable from onslought of typhoon-borne natural disasters with no violent storm hitting this upland areas.

We will be facing another challenge though as the weather forecast for 2024 will be El Nino's season. This means, possible event of vast dry trees and shrubs that could be highly combustible redounding to possible forest fires. We could not afford to put to wastes a couple of years of gains in tree planting. Hence the community will ensure that forest fires would be averted as much as possbile and to create more awaress of the dangers for the coming El Nino. They could do this by utilizing their "lappat" system or indigenous ways of protecting their natural resources including their forest and watershed.

Again we thank you all for supporting this effort. Every donation you gave would mean a couple of trees added to revive a heavily-exposed land area where trees once abound. Thank you and may you continue to support this noble work to contribute reducing greenhouse gasses as well. Most importantly, we can help rebuild the forest which is a source of food medicine and environmental safetynet of indigenous peoples.

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