SM Baguio plants 14,000 tree seedlings

ONE hundred and ten employees of SM City Baguio and 310 from its partner groups planted 14,200 pine tree seedlings at their adopted area in Busol Watershed on Oct. 24 as part of its goal to plant 50,000 trees in the next three years.

The groups that participated in the tree-planting activity are the Police Regional Office-Cordillera, the Baguio City Police Office, Guardians, 911 On Call, Philippine Air Force, and Highway Patrol Group-Cordillera.

This year, a total of 23,757 pine tree saplings were already planted in various sites in the city as SM City Baguio’s contribution in boosting the city’s tree cover.

Last January, 400 seedlings were planted within SM City Baguio compound, 2,000 at the Busol Watershed by the its administration employees and affiliates last February in support to the government’s National Greening Program, and 157 at Forbes Park last June.

Also in June, 7,000 saplings were planted also at Busol in observance of the Philippine Arbor Day. Ninety five percent of these trees have survived while the remaining five percent that did not survive were replaced during the Oct. 24 visit and planting.

The seedlings that were planted are being monitored and maintained by Baguio-based Deyan Construction, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources-accredited contractor, hired by the mall management to ensure high survival rate of the seedlings in Busol.

A total of 50,000 trees are targeted to be planted in the next three years. The mall management is confident of hitting the 50,000 mark in less than three years, at the rate they are going and with more agencies willing and interest to partner in the tree-planting effort of SM, which is eyeing to plant 26,243 more trees during the target period. (PR)