DepEd SurSurDiv joins Treevolution: Greening MindaNOW

Planting 4.6 million trees in six (6) regions throughout Mindanao on

September 26, 2014 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. by 244,444 participants in 9,200
hectares was the main objective of Treevolution: Greening MindaNOW. Based on
the calculations of DENR, 500 seedlings can be planted in one (1) hectare or 20
seedlings per participant.
Officials said more than three million trees had been planted across
Mindanao in a bid to beat Indias world record for most trees planted in an hour. At
the massive tree planting campaign, dubbed Treevolution: Greening MindaNOW,
thousands of volunteers planted trees in several parts of Mindanao, planting a total
of 3,373,762 trees.
This ambitious one-hour tree planting activity united Mindanaoans, including
Surigao del Sur Division, to break the Guinness World Records (GWR) of India which
planted 1,945,535 trees for one hour in 408 locations across India by 340,200
participants.
Supt. Cabatuan said tree planting is definitely attainable and Surigao del Sur,
with the help of DepEd officials, also looks forward to achieve enhanced agricultural
systems by making sure that areas considered as watershed areas remain and are
protected.
She said there are also areas where certain types of crops thrive, adding to
the tree-growing strategy like cacao, rubber and coffee and these varieties are also
identified as trees under the National Greening Program.
Thats why in several areas under the Treevolution, participants did not plant
solely hardwood trees. They also planted cacao, rubber and coffee in areas which
are found the viability of these crops in order to generate income.
Meanwhile, Gov. Pimentel assured that the council will be behind the
simultaneous tree-planting activity, adding that the DENR can also count on the
provincial government to mobilize its people aside from providing for the
transportation needs.
Supt. Cabatuan and Gov. Pimentel stressed out that the event was worth the
unity and efforts. All the hard work and dedication of the volunteers and the staff
were noted for showing that Surigao del Sur does stand a chance of recovering its
lost groundour once rich forest cover.
That while breaking a world record was a known inspiring factor for the
event, it has been emphasized that the success of TreeVolution was beyond
Guinness attempt. The tremendous turnout of furtherance was already a reassuring
measure of success. Certainly, there were lessons learned and we took note of
those to guide us in this ongoing effort, they concluded.