ILOILO City – The city government needs more native seedlings for its massive tree-growing activity in response to climate change.
Mayor Jerry Treñas has ordered native trees from Mindanao and he was also seeking donations of native tree seedlings.
“I have been ordering native trees up to Mindanao. Some that arrived are only six inches tall, while some are higher. We need a lot, and donations of native tree seedlings are most welcome,” he said on Thursday, May 30.
Currently, the city government’s nursery has some 12,000 seedlings of various species of native trees, and has already planted around 35,000 in open spaces under the Urban Tree Planting Program.
“The area with the hottest heat index is the Diversion Road according to the gauges, which were installed for us by Manila Observatory in partnership with Shell. Let’s make Iloilo City greener with more native trees,” Mayor Treñas added.
For his part, Executive Assistant for Environment Armando Dayrit said native trees attract biodiversity and they make the temperature cooler.
Preparations for this year are ongoing, starting at the Diversion Road, where “Dita” species will replace Royal Palm trees previously planted in the area.
Dayrit said he is also targeting planting trees on small corner roads. They have already planted areas from barangays Sooc to Calahunan in Mandurriao district, and also in vacant areas in Molo district.
Preserving and nurturing the environment is part of the city government’s development roadmap called W.H.E.E.L.S. (Welfare, Health and Sanitation, Education, Environmental Management, Livelihood, and Sustainability).
Under the leadership of Mayor Treñas, the city government creates sustainable and environment-friendly initiatives to make the metro greener and more livable.
Thus, among others, there’s massive tree planting activities in open spaces, plazas, floodway, and roads.
The city government had said that planting native trees is more than just helping improve biodiversity and greening the earth. It also uplifts the sense of pride and enhances heritage awareness of a community. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)/PN
