Motivated
by the same goal, linked by a common threat, more than a hundred employees from
different companies under the SM Group and its affiliates joined hands in
making their pledges for the environment through the “Grow A Million Trees”
tree planting activity held on June 5, 2013.
The
project led by SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI), the company’s socio civic arm, is
aimed to contribute to the national greening efforts through tree planting,
nurturing and development initiatives in specified areas nationwide.
It
also highlights the public and private partnership between the Department of
Natural Resources (DENR) and SM in being catalysts for environment
sustainability and protection.
SMFI
likewise partnered with the local group, the Suklib Kalawakan DRT Upland
Farmers Association, Inc. to help during the three-year program development of
the plantation area in Bulacan.
Coinciding
with the celebration of the World Environment Day, volunteers braved the heat
as they trekked the steep hill of the vast 20-hectare land in Sitio Kamalig,
Barangay Kalawakan, Doña Remedios Trinidad in Bulacan. This area was adopted as
one of the seven identified sites for the tree growing project.
The
area became the home of 2,500 saplings of narra trees planted by the
participants. These seedlings amounted to the 25 percent of the target 10,000
for the Bulacan site alone.
Meanwhile,
every employee who came from SM malls in Baliwag and Marilao, SM Hypermarket,
Supermarket, SM Department Store and Ace Hardware were armed not only with
planting tools but also with their desire to save the environment amidst
climate crisis.
During
the activity, it was SMFI Assistant Vice President for livelihood and outreach,
Ms. Cristie Angeles who led the group together with project partners head DENR
Central Office’s Romeo Fiecas, Community Environment and Natural Resources’
Forester III Juanito Pascual and People’s Organization’s Juanito Polka.
The
SM Grow A Million Trees project in Bulacan is the first leg of the many tree
planting activities for the year. To date, 270,207 seedlings have been planted
by the SM Group and affiliates.
The
project will also be carried out in the provinces of Benguet, Cebu, Cagayan De
Oro, Davao, Nasugbu and Calatagan in Batangas.
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