Saving the world one tree at a time

MANILA, Philippines - What do people do to save the world from environmental degradation? Some support conservation projects. Some recycle. Some save on water and electricity. Some join cleanups. Some plant trees.

Saving the world by planting one tree at a time was the theme of the tree planting activity held by Tagaytay Highlands, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, and Lifestyle Asia last May 22, the International Day for Biodiversity.

Over 150 officers and employees of the three groups planted 200 fruit-bearing trees such as rambutan, atis, chico, duhat, lanzones, santol, star apple, and macopa near The Country Club at Tagaytay Highlands.

The ambassadors of Cambodia, Indonesia, and Japan to the Philippines also took time off from their diplomatic duties to join the tree-planting activity.

The tree-planting activity, accredited as a project under the global Green Wave campaign of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, is part of the vision of Tagaytay Highlands founder Willy Ocier to plant one million trees in 50 years inside the Tagaytay Highlands Complex.

During the last 16 years, a series of tree-planting activities have been conducted inside the exclusive complex for a greener Tagaytay Highlands. Last year, Tagaytay Highlands moved to make the leisure destination a natural sanctuary by partnering with Lifestyle Asia magazine for the tree-planting activity “Plant Hope Gardens.” This year, Tagaytay Highlands takes its commitment to the next level by joining the global Green Wave campaign with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.

“Without trees, there will be no air to breathe and without air, there will be no life to live,” said Ocier. Blessed with abundant natural surroundings, Tagaytay Highlands is giving back to Mother Nature and doing its share in saving the environment in many ways.

For Rodrigo U. Fuentes, executive director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, “The effort to plant one tree at a time will go a long way in conserving our environment. Planting trees will help lessen the impact of climate change. An average tree can absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year and an acre of trees can take in a cumulative 26. Trees can indeed make a difference in emissions and may be able to slow the impact of global warming. Trees’ roots also prevent soil erosion. They will also provide Tagaytay Highlands’ various species of birds and insects a new home. More important, they will pass on an important legacy to the future generation.”

Under the leadership of its club president Jerry Tiu, Tagaytay Highlands has initiated several other activities to conserve the environment. Said Tiu, “Tagaytay Highlands is a natural sanctuary today because of every tree that has been planted one at a time. Here in our home away from home, we are firm believers that every big thing starts with small steps. We believe that if we all join hands together and contribute in our own little ways, we can make a big difference.”  

Apart from planting trees, the leisure complex also conserves energy. During off-peak days, Tagaytay Highlands splits up the lighting of the streetlights and turns on the lights only in the important areas to minimize power consumption. To reduce this even more, incandescent lights have been replaced by compact fluorescent ones, which have cut down energy usage up to 60 percent. Likewise, the operation of heavy equipment is done on a set schedule. Tagaytay Highlands also promotes the use of renewable resources. The exclusive complex has its own sewerage treatment plant that converts wastewater to usable water that is used for irrigation and maintenance of Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands surrounding landscaped areas. Tagaytay Highlands also proudly promotes its clean air campaign by converting its golfers’ transport vehicles to LPG power, which is more economical and also pollutant-free. For Tiu, “Doing these efforts doesn’t just safeguard the environment but our future as well.”

For these efforts, Tagaytay Highlands was recognized by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity as a friend of biodiversity. The award is given to individuals and organizations that help conserve biodiversity through environment-friendly initiatives.