ENERGY Development Corporation (EDC) sowed the seeds of its Binhi: A Greening Legacy program in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig with a tree planting activity.

More than 50 seedlings of rare Philippine tree species were planted along the proposed BGC jogging path, including banuyo, dao, gisokgisok, guijo, palosapis and supa.

EDC senior vice president Agnes de Jesus explained that Binhi’s “Tree for the Future” module is biased towards the planting of endangered tree species.

“Our reforestation efforts must consider tree species biodiversity preservation and enrichment,” she said, adding that it has become imperative to bring indigenous, premium but endangered trees in the mainstream of reforestation initiatives.

Under the “Tree for the Future” module, EDC and its partners will plant this type of trees in locations where they will best survive or receive protection, such as school grounds, municipal parks and leisure estates. The objective is to grow them into “mother trees” that would produce the seeds to be used in reforestation projects. EDC aims to implement the module in all 81 Philippine provinces.

Apart from “Tree for the Future,” Binhi has three other modules: “Tree for Life” (for bridging gaps of critical forest areas), “Tree for Food” (for livelihood of forest settlers) and “Tree for Leisure” (for ecotourism).(Story/photo by T. Nieva)