In celebration of the 2024 Environment Month and Philippine Arbor Day, the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur spearheaded a tree growing activity at the Bicol Natural Park (BNP) on June 25, 2024. Led by Gov. Luigi Villafuerte and Congressman Hori Horibata, 8,000 community members, volunteers, and the youth, as well as representatives from different government offices and agencies simultaneously planted 12,000 seedlings of native trees at the open and deforested areas of the BNP in Barangay Sooc, Lupi. A total of 20 hectares of land at the BNP were planted with native trees such as banaba, fish-tail, dao, anilao, apitong, white lawaan, and mali-mali.
The tree growing activity is the start of the rehabilitation efforts of the Provincial Government, a member of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), to rehabilitate 500 hectares of the deforested areas of the BNP through the El Verde Program rehabilitation project. This effort also aims to contribute to the reversion of the agricultural areas of the BNP into forest areas while providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to the residents of the communities in and around the BNP.
Among the stakeholders who helped plant trees during the event were representatives from Provincial Government of Camarines Sur, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office – Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, Protected Area Office – Bicol Natural Park, PAMB members of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Camarines Sur, El Verde Youth for Climate Action – Libmanan, Sipocot, and Lupi Chapters, Philippine National Police – Provincial Police Office, and the 11 barangays covered by the BNP in Camarines Sur.
(Source: Province of CamSur)