Dear One Million Trees Stakeholders,

At the close of year 2009, we are pleased to provide an update on our project Green For Life: One Million Trees and Beyond.

Seedlings Planted

As of December 2009, we have planted a total of 448,715 seedlings in various parts of the country. We have continued our reforestation efforts in the uplands:  Mt. Palay-palay National Park in Ternate, Cavite, Ilin Island in Mindoro, and many others. Our focus on mangroves has been unwavering: Calatagan and Lian Mangroves in Batangas, Punta Taytay in Negros Occidental, Balaring Silay in Misamis Oriental and many others. While the seventeen (17) La Salle schools have been the main channel in driving this initiative, important partnerships have been forged with many educational and civic organizations like St. Scholastica’s College, Cavite State University, Rotary Club, Coast Guard Squadron, Gawad Kalinga and many generous sponsoring businesses. Volunteer planters continue to pour in every planting activity. We are committed to planting native and endemic species to promote bio-diversity, preserve our flora and fauna and as a matter of national pride.

Supporting Programs and Education

Beyond planting trees, the project aspires to raise the awareness of the general public and the youth in particular on the environmental issues that confront our country. It seeks to inculcate important values and thus promotes the active participation of the youth in actual tree planting. In support, many talks, forums and research have been undertaken. Some examples would include Mangrove orientations  conducted by TIME Environmentalist of the Year Awardee Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, One Million Trees Project research papers submitted to theInternational Research Conference on Environmental Research and Technology 2010 in Penang, Malaysia and IATED International Conference in Valencia, Spain.

Challenges

In early 2009, we were challenged by the N1H1 virus which derailed many of the scheduled planting activities at the start of the school year. Later in the year, typhoons Pepeng and Ondoy diverted many of the schools and sponsors attention to helping the victims of these devastating events. These calamities only served to inspire us to continue our efforts on the environment.

Past Years

The number of seedlings planted per year has grown dramatically as we were able to address early stage organizational and project issues such as identification of appropriate sites, community partners, sources of seedlings and some funding partners.

2010 Target

For the year 2010, we aim to plant 350,000 seedlings as we continue to focus on broader participation and awareness.  Likewise, we will continue the education and support programs as a natural partner to the tree planting and nurturing activities. We hope to exceed one million trees planted and nurtured by the year 2011.

Thank You

Thank you again for supporting Green for Life: One Million Trees and Beyond. Whatever gains achieved so far would not be possible without the volunteers, donors and contributors.

Please continue to visit   www.1milliontreesandbeyond.com  

In St. La Salle,

Jorge C. Buenaventura

Project Director

 Green for Life: One Million Trees and Beyond

Lasallian Institute for the Environment (LIFE)