1 M Trees Planted as CBCP Year of the Youth is celebrated

One of the significant activities of the in the celebration of the CBCP Year of the Youth was planting I M trees. The said activity was a concrete expression for the need to care and nurture Mother Earth and strengthen the commitment of young people to protect the environment as stewards of God’s- given gift of the environment.

The objectives of the activity: educated the minds and formed the hearts of young people towards “ care for Mother’s Earth ”; deepened faith by embracing the commitment as stewards of God’s creation; translated the tree planting activities to a lifestyle that cares for Mother Earth concretely expressed in daily life through protecting and preserving the environment.

The participants and linkages: Episcopal Commission of Youth (ECY), Diocesan Youth Ministry offices and member-organization of the Federation of the National Youth organization (FNYO), youth ministers and leaders and youth in general.

The efforts were coordinated and networked with government and private agencies specifically:
The Pres. of the Republic of the Phil who was requested to proclaim Sept. 08, starting this year, as National Tree-Planting Day; the Dept. of Education (DepEd), through its dept. Secretary, which was requested to issue an Inter-Office Memorandum requiring all pupils in Grade V and VI and all secondary school students in both private and public schools all over the country to participate in the simultaneous tree-planting activities the National Tree Planting Day, the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which was requested to provide planting materials and assist the technical aspects of the tree-planting efforts at the diocesan and parish levels; the Dept. of Interior and Local Govt.(DILG) through its Provincial, Municipal, Barangay Councils and SK requested to assist in facilitating the nationwide simultaneous tree planting; the CARE Foundation which is an agency that helps in the protection and preservation of the environment and Corporate Partners (private institutions) that supported the tree planting program.

There were three (3) phases for the activity: First, Pre-Planting which included the site, date and program, procedure, coordination and networking and preparation for planting. Dwellers in the site for tree planting were also involved. Second, Planting. It included first a short program for education and formation on the environment followed by suggested elements for a meaningful program. Each region had estimated no. of seedlings with a total of 1,360,476. This means that more seedlings were required to be planted because not all of them may grow into trees. And third, Monitoring and Preservation. This phase shall be tasked to the diocesan youth ministry office or FNYO with a regular visit to the planting site to ensure proper care and inventory of the planted seedlings. Also, documentation and recording shall be done as crucial part of the monitoring phase. A systematic and accurate as well as honest documentation in all the phases shall be required. A n on-going continuous formation program during visitation to the planting site shall be conducted to ensure the growing of the trees and the deepening of the awareness of the youth leaders and ministers involved in the program.