Ordinance Formulation Workshop

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Taiyo Yuden Philippines plants 10K seedlings at Buhisan

Employees of Taiyo Yuden Philippines planted 10,000 native and endemic tree seedlings on a four-hectare site in Toong, Cebu City. The activity is led by their EMR Director Koichi Iguchi, General Managers Toshihiko Uemura and Akira Takahashi, Assistant General Manager Keiichi Kimura, and EMs Shozaburo Kanai, Satoshi Miyamae, Toshiaki Nakano, and Koji Taketome.

Taiyo Yuden Philippines has been a partner of PBSP for its reforestation efforts since 2001. The company will continue to adopt four hectares for reforestation every year until 2015.

     

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SMB to plant 45K trees in Borbon

San Miguel Brewery Communications Officer Romelinda Garces and Plant Manager Manuel Moreno turn over the check to PBSP Visayas Regional Office Manager Jessie Cubijano and Program Coordinator Malu Largo for the planting of 45,000 native and endemic tree seedlings. The seedlings will be utilised for the company's reforestation efforts in Borbon, northern Cebu.

Veco employees plant trees with PBSP

More than 70 employees of the Visayan Electric Company (Veco) planted 12,500 seedlings over five hectares of the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve.

This activity is in partnership with the Visayas Regional Office of PBSP.

In 2010, Veco also partnered with PBSP for a five-year reforestation park project in the Cebu Hillylands. The Veco Refo Park Project aims to plant 1 million trees over 540 hectares of the Cebu Hillylands.

See the full gallery on our photo blog.

Tree growing in Tabunan

Tree growing in Tabunan
Cebu Daily News
June 25, 2012

Last Saturday, more than 750 volunteers from 35 companies trekked to sitio Cantipla in barangay Tabunan to plant trees.

The event dubbed Cebu Hillyland Reforestation Caravan of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP)  seeks to mobilize widespread support in regaining the forest landscape of Cebu.

The site of the tree planting event last Saturday is part of the 29,062-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape.

Only native or endemic tree species were planted in order to restore the biodiversity in Tabunan.

Greening Cebu’s protected landscape is vital in preserving biodiversity, creating carbon sink and recharging aquifiers.

15,000 trees for Tabunan forest

15,000 trees for Tabunan forest
By Jessa Agua
Cebu Daily News
June 24, 2012

About 15,000 native and endemic tree seedlings  were planted  in slopes of sitio Cantipla 2 in barangay Tabunan, Cebu City yesterday, the start of a series of   Saturday planting sessions by volunteers of the  Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).

The kick-off of  PBSP’s annual Cebu Hillylands Reforestation Caravan was participated in by 750 volunteers from 35 companies.

The site is part of the  29,062-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL).

Employees from member companies will continue to take turns planting  in different parts of  Tabunan every Saturday until October 27 to maximize the rainy reason.

Doing so is an investment in the future, said Cebu Daily News publisher Eileen Mangubat,  chairperson of the PBSP Visayas hillyland development committee during a short program.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide  in the air, help recharge the aquifer which is the source of Cebu City’s  drinking water and prevent  soil erosion and flooding, she said.

Partners in the community also maintain the seedlings after the activity to ensure a 90 percent survival rate, she said.

PBSP technical officer Leo Pelletero, who demonstrated the proper way to plant the seedlings,  said PBSP works with the Pung-ol Sibugay Multipurpose Cooperative, Tabunan Forest Warden Farmers Association, Sayaw Farmers Association and KEEP Foundation.

About 10 million trees were planted by PBSP and its partners in the  past two decades, said Reggie Barrientos, PBSP communication officer.

Only  native and endemic tree species are  used in order to promote biodiversity in Tabunan, which is the habitat of the rare Cebu flowerpecker bird and the Black Shama or siloy.

Seedling were distributed for  the Cebu cinammon tree or kaningag which is a critically endangered species, and more common varietes of lawaan, tipolo, molave and narra.

Fr. Monico Catubig led an invocation before the planting and Tabunan barangay captain Lucresia Gabato welcomed the volunteers.

A children’s storytelling session was held under the shade of  trees through the Philippine Daily Inquirer Read Along program while adults trekked and planted seedlings.

Two “green clincis” were held after lunch to extend the educational value of the trip.

Lisa Paguntalan of the Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PBCFI) handled a  special pop quiz about biodiversity for participants.

Godfrey Jakosalem led a session on  the basics of  wildlife photography and birdwatching.

Teak trees in Buhisan to be pruned

Teak trees in Buhisan to be pruned
By Jessa Agua
June 14, 2012
Cebu Daily News

Pruning of old exotic trees in the Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve is needed to prevent bush fires, an environment official said.

Protected Area Supervisor Ariel Rica of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) said he is recommending the cropping of teak tree branches after the Philippine Business for Social Progress raised concern over bush fires.

The issue on the recent series of bush fires at the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve particularly in barangay Toong was raised during the PBSP-DENR partners meeting at the Casino Español.

Around 4.8 hectares of PBSP-maintained plantations were burned in two separate bush fires last April.

Rica’s recommendation however may need the permit from DENR-7 as indiscriminate pruning may damage the trees and may give illegal loggers an excuse to cut trees.

“We cannot do pruning right away. We have to check with the legalities since this was part of our reforestation project in the past where exotic and not native trees were planted,” he explained.

The CCPL covers 29,062 hectares of protected mountain and drainage basin covering Central Cebu National Park, Buhisan Dam, Mananga Watershed Forest Reserve, Kotkot-Lusuran Watershed Forest Reserve, and the Sudlon National Park.

PBSP maintains tree plantations and organizes community in the Buhisan Dam area under the Save the Buhisan Watershed Project to balance sustainable water supply alongside empowering residents while promoting eco-cultural tourism destination.

Forest rangers suspect arson in Buhisan fires

Forest rangers suspect arson in Buhisan fires
Cebu Daily News
April 23, 2012

Are arsonists responsible for the series of bush fires at the reforestation plantations in Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve?

Volunteer forest rangers suspect the fires that hit the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve may be caused by arson.

Boy Clamares of Toong Volunteers Farmers Association made this assessment after putting out last Saturday, the third fire that hit the critical watershed this year.

Saturday’s bush fire  damaged 18 young narra trees planted in the 2010 reforestation project of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).

Maria Luisa B. Largo, PBSP head of Metro Cebu Poverty Reduction Program is wondering why their plantations seem to be the “victim” of bush fires.
Toong barangay Captain Timmy Bacalso also asked the same question.

“Nganu man gyud kaha nga ang PBSP plantation man gyud ang masunog? Nagsusi pa sad mi ana nga panghitabo. Hinuon, ilawom sa teak man sad sila nananom, (Why does the PSBP plantations suffer from bush fires? We are currently investigating on the matter. Fire is inevitable though since they are planting underneath teak trees.) said Bacalso.

Bacalso though only learned of the third fire when Cebu Daily News called him about the fire.

“Wala ko kadungog nga duna diay sunog nga gamay gahapon.  Amo unya ng susihon, (I did not hear about the fire yesterday (Saturday). We will look into this matter.)” Bacalso told CDN.

PO3 Virgilio Bogatan who is assigned in the area was also clueless on the third fire.

Clamares said he has strong reasons that  the fires were caused by arsonists.

“Sunogon nila ang mga kahoy, aron ilang makuha unya himoong uling. Kay og sunog na daan, di naman sila dakpon, (They burn the trees, so that they can harvest it for charcoal because if it is already burned, they would not be apprehended by authorities anymore), Clamares said.

Skyrocketing prices of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) increased demand for charcoal as families stretching their budget shift to charcoal as cooking fuel.

According to Clamares, the three reported bush fires in barangay Toong have already damaged over 10,000 fruit and non-fruit trees and bushes.

The first one on April 13 damaged more than 7,000 young trees while the second on April 17 destroyed about 3,000.

Government authorities however have yet to determine if the fires were intentional as the area used to be the source of raw materials of charcoal makers.

High summer temperature may however also aggravate the risk for forest fires.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) called for vigilance  against forest and bush fires especially during the summer season.

The Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve is part of the 28,000-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape.

It also hosts the Buhisan Dam which is the main source of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.

Soaring temperature, forest fire

HOTTEST DAY OF SUMMER:
Soaring temperature, forest fire
By Carmel Lois Matus, Jessa Chrisna Marie Agua, Tweeny Malinao
Cebu Daily News
April 22, 2012

Earth Day is celebrated today in Cebu city amid soaring summer temperatures, a bicycle tour and a second bush fire in the Buhisan watershed.

The weather bureau recorded 33.2 degrees Celsius yesterday, making it the hottest day of the summer, according to weather analyst Boy Artiaga of the Mactan office of Pagasa.

Artiaga said the heat is normal this time of the year but cautioned the public to stay in the shade and drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration and heat stroke.

Those with high blood pressure should also stay indoors especially between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. when the day is at its hottest.

Artiaga said there was no sign of an El Niño phenomenon and that the heat would subside by May 15 when weather experts expect the onset of the rainy season.

Pedal power will be showcased by bicycle enthusiasts in the morning.

Traffic enforcers will be on the street at 7 a.m. to guide hundreds of bicycle riders who will travel a 20-kilometer Earth Day Route that starts and finishes in  Plaza Independencia.

Roads “are not closed” to traffic.  Bikers will pass the rightmost lane, said Rafael Yap, executive director of the City Traffic Operations and Management.

A Citom enforcer on motorbike will follow the bicycle teams as they travel through major intersections of JY Square, Gorordo Avenue, Juan Luna Avenue, M.J. Cuenco, Legaspi Extension,  Fuente Osmeña, P. del Rosario Avenue, Colon Street and Osmeña Boulevard.

Meanwhile, the two bush fires occurred only four days and a few kilometers apart in barangay Toong in the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve, the first recorded since 2012.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, including reports that it could have been intentionally started by dwellers out to cut and harvest damaged trees to make into charcoal.

When Cebu Daily News visited the site,  there were dry patches of land littered with  fallen brown leaves of old teak trees mixed with newly planted fruit trees.

About two hectares of a reforestation site in the “greenbelt” buffer zone entering the protected area were burned in the second fire  on April 17  in barangay Toong, Cebu City.

About one hectare was in the project site of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) while the remaining one hectare is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Policemen and Toong barangay tanods put out the flames that started about  3 p.m., said DENR 7 Protected Area Superintendent (PASU) Ariel Rica.

Fruit trees like santol, nangka, caimito, kamansi (bread fruit), marang and lumbang were among the damaged trees, said PBSP forester Flor Rosales who showed Cebu Daily News the terrain.

Red flower-bearing fire trees, planted in the first-line boundary of the protected area , were also burned.

Also affected were shrubs like rattan, magay and romblon. These were planted for economic use of farmers, who would be trained on weaving and other livelihood options under a PBSP program, said Flores.

Damaged trees and shrubs were less than two years old.  Some were just planted five months ago.

Rosales said after making an inventory, volunteers and PBSP will have to prepare for rehabilitation of the area and replanting again when the rainy season starts.

Barangay Toong has a sloping, steep terrain.

The first fire in early April damaged the lower part.  The second fire ate up the upper slopes.

In a press statement about the Toong fires, DENR said the dried leaves during summer “should be collected and removed from the site as they are potential source of fire.”

It said three aspects have to be considered 1) prevention, (2) detection, and (3) suppression.

Experts have cited the danger of  bush or forest fires where there are dried teak trees especially with cigarette butts irresponsibly thrown in the area.

Teak trees are exotic species that were massively planted in past DENR reforestation projects but are no longer continued because they absorb a lot of water.

Since tall teak trees form a canopy with its broad leaves, shrubs can’t grow underneath, a factor that leads to soil erosion and eventual siltation of the Buhisan dam.

Rosales confirmed that PBSP and many NGOs don’t plant exotic trees and instead focus on planting  native tree species that improve biodiversity, as well as “revenue-bearing” trees and shrubs so that the community can have livelihood opportunities without resorting to cutting down the trees.

The Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve covers 630 hectares mostly in the uplands of Cebu City.

It is one of five protected watersheds in the 28,000-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL).

The others are Mananga Watershed Forest Reserve, Sudlon National Park, Central Cebu National Park and the Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserve.

Another bush fire hits tree plantation

Another bush fire hits tree plantation
Sun.Star Cebu
April 20, 2012

CEBU CITY -- A second bush fire broke out in as many weeks in the Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve (BWFR), where a fight to protect biodiversity is ongoing.

The fire does not threaten any homes, but it hampers the natural growth of indigenous trees within the watershed.

“Since the area is a plantation, there are no dwelling places that would be affected.

HOW TO STOP A BUSH FIRE.  Marili Ortiz, a former forester and a resident of Toong, gathers dry leaves to form a barrier that will keep a bush fire from spreading. (Alex Badayos)
“So the damage is to the humus that could be transformed into organic matter, which contributes to the natural process or cycle,” said Socorro Atega, Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water (CUSW) director.

The CUSW is a non-government organization involved in efforts to preserve the Buhisan Watershed, Metro Cebu’s main source of ground water. The watershed is part of the 29,000-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape.

Atega said that in Barangay Toong, Cebu City, which is located within the watershed and hosts a large teak plantation, the people have grown used to the fires.

“Tungod sa liter sa teak, if you refer to the DENR, heat and lit cigarettes thrown in the area of dried leaves could start a fire. So it (bush fires) have a human factor,” said Atega.

Marili Ortiz, of the Community Environment and Natural Office (Cenro) and a Barangay Toong resident, reported that a bush fire hit a one-hectare area of the teak plantation Thursday afternoon.

The 54-year-old Toong resident said she passed by the forest past 3 p.m. on her way home from work and saw the fire starting. An hour later, she returned to the site and saw three forest guards, accompanied by a policeman assigned in Barangay Toong, putting out the bush fire.

“Nagtuo ka’g dali ra patyon ang kayo pero lisod kayo (You might think the fire would be easy to put out, but it wasn’t),” Ortiz said.

In an interview, barangay captain Teotimo L. Bacalso said he attended a three-day seminar that just concluded Thursday afternoon, so he was unaware of the bush fire.

Bacalso said they are always prepared for any fires and have fire extinguishers ready.

He also said that the residents, who are used to the bush fires that occur every time the hot season comes, help put out the fires in any way they can.

Ortiz suggested that the best way is to put up a barrier of dried leaves to block the rapid spreading of flames. One can simply stomp on the flames or bring water and splash it on the affected area.

Flor Rosales, a technical officer of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), said these bush fires are harmful to the environment since it damages mostly the newly planted trees.

Rosales said they have yet to survey if the affected hectare is a part of the PBSP reforestation site.

Blaze consumes trees in reforestation site, damages part of watershed

Blaze consumes trees in reforestation site, damages part of watershed
By Bernadette A. Parco
Sun.Star Cebu
April 18, 2012

ABOUT 3,000 trees were eaten by a bush fire at a reforestation project of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in the mountain barangay of Toong, Cebu City last Friday.

According to a PBSP field survey, the fire—which occurred at noon as residents reported—damaged a 4.8-hectare reforestation site. Of the affected area, three hectares were planted in 2008 while the rest were planted last year.

Since the fire, which was put out after two hours, damaged part of the Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is closely monitoring the area.

Buhisan watershed is part of the nearly 29,000-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL).

“What happened in the area was an isolated case,” said Malu Largo, program coordinator of the PBSP-Visayas Regional Operations. She added that the dried leaves of the teak trees may have caught fire during the heat.

The trees eaten by the fire were part of the reforestation project of the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) and PBSP. Only about 991 trees were left unharmed.

Survival
PBSP’s programs are funded by its corporate members, like Veco.

Largo assured that PBSP reforestation sites have a high survival rate of more than 95 percent.

She said that since watershed management and reforestation are priority projects of the PBSP, the group will reforest the area.

But she said reforesting denuded mountains and degraded watersheds should be the concern of the government and the community.

But Ma. Alma Ferolyn, Barangay Toong treasurer, admitted that the residents were not really concerned about the bush fire as it happened some distance away from their houses.

She said residents are used to bush fires in summer. Besides, she added, the barangay does not have a disaster preparedness program.

CCPL superintendent Le-bert Omac said a DENR team inspected the 800 square meters inside Buhisan watershed, a source of water in Metro Cebu, that was damaged by fire.

The DENR is yet to determine if the fire was deliberate. But it said in a statement that “the intense heat with the presence of many large dried leaves of teak tree species may have contributed the fire.”(CNU Comm Intern Zarah Joi J. Ancajas)

Burned: 14 houses in Mandaue city, 4.8 hectares in Buhisan forest

TIPOLO FIRE

Burned: 14 houses in Mandaue city, 4.8 hectares in Buhisan forest

By Jessa Chrisna Marie Agua, Norman V. Mendoza

Cebu Daily News

April 18, 2012

A mid-afternoon fire destroyed 14 houses in an interior neighborhood of barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City yesterday.

No one was injured.

Minutes after the fire in sitio Basubas was tapped at 3:33 p.m., a grass fire sent firefighters rushing to a field a kilometer away at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.

Urban and upland fires have been reported in soaring temperatures of summer.

In the Buhisan watershed of Cebu City, a bush fire was declared under control after damaging 4. 8 hectares, according to the Philippine Business for Social Progress  which maintains a reforestation site.

The fire was reported by a PBSP forester who was passing by the area last Friday.  The forester raised the possibility that illegal tree cutters had started the fire to justify cutting down dead trees for firewood and charcoal.

Damaged seedlings of native trees have to be replanted and a two-meter wide “fireline” to be set up by clearing boundaries of debris, said the PBSP in a report.

The fire was put under control “after two hours” said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which said it did not know if the fire was  accidental or the work of an arsonist.

“Grassland/ bush fires in the Buhisan Watershed are a frequent occurrence especially in summer time,” said the report of DENR Protected Area Superintendent Ariel Rica.

He said they used “fire swatters like wood and banana stalks” to put out the flames.   The DENR gave a smaller damage estimate of .8 hectares of the undershrubs of an old Teak tree plantation.

The Buhisan watershed is co-managed by the Metro Cebu Water District and DENR.

While the bush fire “won’t affect water supply”, Roel Paneblo, manager of the MCWD environment division, said the area must be “vegetated or reforested immediately” because the siltation level of the Buhisan Dam would increase with the soil erosion.

The PBSP report, using satellite-based Global Positioning System images, pinpointed the area to 4.8 hectares.

“Of these, 3 hectares were planted in 2008.  The 1.8 hectare reforestation site was planted in 2011.”

More than 3,000 forest trees and shrubs were damaged in the “bush fire” but  991 survived ,including native species of narra, malapaya, lumbang and  salingkuwan.

In the Mandaue fire, small alleys in sitio Basubas allowed only  a one-way access for small vehicles.

“We just connected hoses until it reached the area,” said SFO1 Nilo Cosido, Mandaue fire investigator said.

The fire started in the house of Rosemarie Miñoza and spread to other houses of light materials, concrete and wood.

The lone patient of the “Paanakan sa Mandaue”  a three-bed  maternity house nearby was discharged in the morning so no one was around when the fire broke out.

A firewall prevented flames from reaching them, but part of an extension building was affected,  said the owner Liza Basubas Prudenciado.

A 14-year-old girl was asleep when the fire broke. She was frantically trying to get back into their burning  house when a neighbor John Arnel Toñacao grabbed her and took her to safety.

The girl’s mother recalled a fire in the sitio in 2001, and said bystanders who use shabu in the neighborhood may have accidentally caused the fire.

Marvin Sevillino, a resident, was at Carbon market. He wasn’t able to save any of his house appliances while his wife was away in San Fernando town, south Cebu.

Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes rushed to the scene and ordered social workers to assist fire victims and provide emergency meals. A rapid census will be made.

“They will receive assistance from the city for sure but we are still assessing them first,” said the mayor.

Native trees to be restored in Buhisan

Native trees to be restored in Buhisan
By Candeze R. Mongaya
Cebu Daily News
March 12, 2012

Concerted effort from various stakeholders in Cebu is needed to save the local watersheds, a conservationist said.

The lush 360-hectare forest with indigenous trees that is the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve boasts a variety of ecotourism attractions for the nature enthusiast.

Architect Socorro Atega, executive director of the Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Waters (CUSW), said the Buhisan Ecotourism destination is one way of encouraging environmental sustainability and letting the public understand their role as stewards of the environment.

“We should educate our constituents. Most of us don’t realize that we have the responsibility of taking care of our water resources,” Atega said during the Hambin Monthly forum in the Cathedral Museum yesterday afternoon.

Atega talked of Buhisan as an ecocultural heritage tourist destination for Cebu. He said the area has lots of potential for tourism aside from being a water source.

The Buhisan Dam, along with the Fuente Osmena Circle, celebrated its 100th anniversary of operation last February 13.

The circle is a waterworks project inaugurated in 1912 and considered as one of Cebu City’s historical sites. While Buhisan with its 60-hectare pond area is the only surface water source tapped by Metropolitan Cebu Water District.

The dam produces 5,000 to 10,000 cubic meters of water per day and provides 5 percent of the MCWD water supply.

Last year, new projects in the watershed like the garden for endemic butterflies, including the Jumalone butterflies only found in Cebu was opened to the public.

Atega said they are also designing programs for the livelihood of upland communities. Among the livelihood opportunities would be in ecotourism where locals will serve as tourist guides.

Atega said they will also prioritize the development of water and forest sustainability that will center on the program of planting native trees species in the watershed.

“We would like to replace our exotic species with native tree species,” Atega said. He added that exotic species will hinder development on the lower portion of the ecosystem leaving the soil under thick trees barren and vulnerable to erosion and siltation of the surface water source.

Many exotic trees like mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), gmelina (Gmelina arborea) and teak trees (Tectona grandis) were planted in the watershed areas years ago before the advantages of native tree species were noted by conservationists. Some exotic species are known to be invasive and can cause permanent changes in natural forest habitats.

Among the indigenous seedlings in the area are mabolo, tipolo, banilad, dakit and Cebu cinnamon. Many conservationists are now advocating restoring indigenous tree species as the best approach to forest ecosystem restoration and conservation.

She said the program is still undergoing “polishing,” especially on the training of the community on the ecotourism.

Atega said they are hoping to open the area for eco-tourism within the year.

Initially, the plan includes a Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve Nature Center, which is in the middle of the trees, that will house the historical and ecological facts about the watershed.

Behind the center is a two-level pond that will save rainwater runoff. Atega said they would also put tilapia fish in the pond.

A nursery for seedlings sponsored by the Philippine Business for Social Progress will house indigenous tree species to be planted in the area.

The track from the center to the pond near the dam is lined with mahogany, teak, and gmelina trees as old as 50 years.

They provided alternative livelihood for nearby residents like vermi composting, planting of crops and raising livestock as alternatives to illegal logging and charcoal making.

Firm workers hold seedling maintenance

Firm workers hold seedling maintenance 
Sun.Star Cebu 
March 1, 2012 

Living up to its commitment to protect the environment, a group of employees from Cebu Home Builders and Centre recently held a “seedling maintenance” at the Mananga Watershed in Cantipla, Cebu City.

As its annual activity, the group conducted the weeding and fertilizing of the seedlings maintained by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).

The employees used organic fertilizer made from worm’s dung.

With the theme, “Go Green, Live Green,” the seedling maintenance is the firm’s way of promoting a green environment, and aims to provide its clientele eco–friendly building materials.

A member of PBSP served as the guide of the employees in the activity, who also gave a brief discussion on how the seedling maintenance would benefit the plants and the environment.

Cebu Hillylands Reforestation Caravan - Culminating Event

Employee volunteers from Lexmark International Philippines, Inc.; Union Galvasteel Corporation; Accenture Philippines; Muramoto Audio-Visual Philippines, Inc.; Philippine Society for Mechanical Engineers and PLDT joined PBSP for the last leg of the Cebu Hillylands Reforestation Caravan.

On the other side of the hillylands, more than 15 children from Cantipla attended the Read-Along session organized by Philippine Daily Inquirer. Stories that show the importance of water and the watersheds were presented in the activity.

After the read-along session, the children along with their parents and guardians also planted tree seedlings in the Veco Reforestation Park's arboretum.

See the entire gallery on our Photosite.