Smart engages community, partners in tree planting

Smart engages community, partners in tree planting
Cebu Daily News
November 16, 2010

Raising a child is not the only task that requires a village’s collective efforts.

The saying also holds true for greening one’s locality or area.

This is one of the primary reasons Smart Communications Inc. took time to engage local community and partners in its tree planting program.

In each of its tree planting sites in the country, Smart taps a local partner to draw support for reforestation efforts.

“We involve the community in our reforestation efforts.  It makes easier for us to get them to commit to the care and maintenance of the seedlings we planted,” said Smart Public Affairs Group head Ramon Isberto.

In Cebu, Smart, together with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) employee-volunteers and the Philippine Business for Social Progress already planted 33,500 mangrove propagules and endemic trees in its adopted areas in Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City and Bojo, Aloguinsan in southwest Cebu.

Smart has also been conducting tree planting activities in Tagbilaran City, Bohol; Dumaguete, Negros Oriental; Bacolod, Negros Occidental; Cagayan de Oro; and Lugait in Misamis Oriental.

Smart’s planting activities this year have resulted in the planting of close to 180,000 seedlings and mangrove propagules through the combined efforts of 1,558 community and employee-volunteers.

This year also marks the third year of the three-year tree planting agreement forged in 2008 between PLDT, Smart, the PLDT-Smart Foundation and Japan’s leading mobile telecommunications company NTT DOCOMO Inc.

Smart’s tree planting activities are part of the company’s corporate social responsibility and community service program Kabalikat.