August 13, 2024
Tzu Chi Youth plants 520 trees, nurturing environmental hope and future with FEED
By Arvin Yanga
The recent devastation of Typhoon Carina (Gaemi) proved an alarming environmental crisis. While illegal logging and poaching also continue to harm nature, specifically forests, Tzu Chi Youth and other volunteers took dedicated action to help the environment. Through a simple yet powerful act of planting trees, they are nurturing hope for a greener future, one seed at a time.
A foggy scenery and a breeze of fresh air welcomed the Tzu Chi Youth and other volunteers as they set foot on UP Laguna-Quezon Land Grant (LQLG) in Siniloan, Laguna, on the 11th day of August.
“Pledge to Plant” is held under “Project 343: Year 2” and is volunteers’ pledge to plant trees that help in maintaining a clean and lush environment. In the same place last October, Tzu Chi Youth Philippines conducted a tree-planting activity called “Project 343” with Fostering Education and Environment for Development, Inc. (FEED).
Reynaldo Lorida, Manager of FEED and UP LQLG, oriented volunteers moments after their arrival at Mess Hall. He emphasized the effect of illegal human activities concerning the environment as well as humans’ power to reclaim its positive health and well-being.
According to Lorida, forests will regenerate on their own, but we can help accelerate the process by planting even more trees. “Every tree that we plant matters,” he pointed out. With this tree-planting activity, humans are supporting the natural healing process of the forest, which keeps them protected from any form of disaster like floods.
“Tree-planting is an old term; the more acceptable term today is tree-nurturing,” Lorida said. This idea inspires people to nurture not just the trees’ health, but their physical health as well by getting more than sufficient amounts of oxygen.
Despite the distance, 63 volunteers cautiously trailed the muddy path to a planting site named “Alejo Area” while being escorted by the forest officers. The volunteers eagerly planted 520 trees, as the “Pledge to Plant” project guaranteed.
The seeds used are all native to the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, and the trees planted have five variations: Sampaloc, Marang, Balitbitan, Kupang, and Diptero.
Spearheaded by Dan Perez, a Tzu Chi Youth Philippines project head, “Pledge to Plant” aligns with the overall mission of Tzu Chi Youth Philippines, which is to help the environment and alleviate poverty. “I would say that this project in particular corresponds with improving the environment that we have, our quality of life, and the air that we breathe,” he said.
For Perez, they had two to three months for preparations, including project support and development. As a leader, he faced difficulties in communication with partnerships and the scheduling of meetings. “FEED is actually the third organization that we reached out to. The first two, it was kind of hard to negotiate with them,” he shared.
“I was able to connect with them (volunteers) very well. A while ago, while we were walking the trail, we were singing and dancing. It was a very great experience.” Perez did not let the challenges overshadow his great experience of this event.
The activity would not be done properly if not for Avelino “Allan” Libarnes. The 53-year-old forest protection officer passionately demonstrated the detailed steps in planting a tree: from finding a spot to digging, fertilizing, planting itself, covering, and final marking with a stick and black plastic.
Along with him was Miaolin Li, a Tzu Chi Youth Philippines volunteer who supported Libarnes during demonstrations, while she also led some general announcements during the event.
For Li, the key points of this project are to plant more trees in Sierra Madre, knowing that it protects Filipinos from floods, as well as to combat deforestation and illegal logging, and even to reduce disasters, as Dharma Master Cheng Yen always wishes.
Planting trees might sound a little boring to some, but Li contradicted this idea by sharing a quote she acquired from FEED. “There’s no Wi-Fi in the forest, but you’ll make better connections there.” She also encouraged people, especially youth, to be mindful of their actions, be educated, and form a good habit because it all starts within oneself.
Tzu Chi Youth Taiwan volunteer Pei-Xuan "Passion” Wang joined the tree-planting activity for the first time. For her, this is a meaningful thing to do to protect the earth. “Globally, we face climate change; that’s why SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 13 is climate action. Together, with our friends’ stories and powers, we can face any difficulty in the future because we are one family,” she said.
Wang was one of the bubbliest volunteers during the activity. She talks to others, sings out loud, and dances energetically, as if she does not have a limited social battery with her. Filled with optimism, Passion stated that Filipino youth have a colorful and better future ahead of them.
A Tzu Chi volunteer, Lisa Lin, also expressed her delightful experience after the event concluded its success. “I am very happy to be able to come here and accompany the volunteers.”
Tzu Chi Youth Philippines aims to organize its next tree-planting activity, determined to hold it again within this year.
Fostering Education and Environment for Development, Inc. (FEED) Manager Reynaldo Lorida (standing center) started the event by orienting the volunteers inside the Mess Hall about environmental protection and a briefing before the tree-planting activity.
Tzu Chi Youth Taiwan volunteer Pei-Xuan “Passion” Wang actively asked questions regarding the tree-planting activity.
A Tzu Chi Taiwan volunteer (left) helped the Tzu Chi Youth volunteer (right) wear the forestry safety helmet necessary when walking the trail.
Sporting forestry safety helmets, Tzu Chi Taiwan volunteers gathered to take a selfie.
Volunteers patiently walked the long trail, heading to the planting site, around 30 minutes away from Mess Hall.
Tzu Chi volunteers and a forest protection officer (in red) helped their fellow volunteers cross a wet, muddy spot in the forest.
Tzu Chi volunteers stopped walking for a while and happily posed for a group photo.
Forest Protection Officer Avelino “Allan” Libarnes (left) properly demonstrated the steps in planting a tree while being assisted by Miaolin Li (right), a Tzu Chi Youth Philippines volunteer.
“Through this simple activity, it's not just about planting; the youth can also get educated on the importance of protecting the environment,” Miaolin Li shared.
Volunteers carefully looked for different spots to plant the trees.
Volunteers started digging their secured spots to plant their tree seedlings.
A Tzu Chi Youth volunteer happily planted a tree seedling, following the instructions given by the forest protection officer.
A Tzu Chi volunteer smiled before laying her plant seedling in the ground.
A Tzu Chi Youth volunteer covered the tree seedling with enough soil using a wooden shovel.
Numerous markedly planted trees with sticks and black plastic.
“Tree-planting ignites a spark in the hearts of Tzu Chi volunteers and unites us, as well as encouraging us to come together as a community and work towards a goal,” Dan Perez said.
“Pledge to Plant” head Dan Perez (first from left), Tzu Chi Youth Taiwan volunteer Pei-Xuan “Passion” Wang (second from left), and other volunteers (right) sang out loud while dancing to purposefully scare the snakes in the forest.
“I see that the Tzu Chi community is growing, and I know that there is a lot of room for future hope,” Tzu Chi volunteer Lisa Lin said.
The event concluded successfully, and all Tzu Chi volunteers, including FEED, took a group photo.