Young people led by LifestyleAsia’s 2009 Eligibles got down and dirty to plant the roots of what may become the counterpoint of Japan’s cherry blossom season. Instead of the annual party to launch this year’s roster, they got up early to do the spadework for LifestyleAsia’s “Loving the Planet” project. A total of 550 saplings of fire trees covering different areas inside and around the Walled City make up the first of several scheduled to be planted this year.
LifestyleAsia editor in chief Anna Sobrepeña told Intramuros Administration Director Anna Maria Harper that they were interested to plant a tree for every page of the magazine. Harper suggested planting flame trees that could become a local attraction during the flowering season. When businessman and boy scout Paolo Delgado approached Harper to do a Go Green activity, she put him in touch with Sobrepeña. Together they mobilized resources, enlisting the Rotary Club of Makati West, Oikos, and the City of Manila.
A designated area in the Asean Garden became the main site of the tree planting that brought together 560 boy scouts, Rotarians and their family members, volunteers of Oikos, students from the International School of Manila, and the staff of Delbros. Saplings were also planted outside the Walled City along Roxas Boulevard, which the city of Manila committed to take care of. Mayor Alfredo Lim participated in the morning activity after brief opening remarks.
Last year, the LifestyleAsia eligibles partnered with Federal Land and the Manila Doctors Colleges to plant trees along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue. Sobrepeña underscored the the youth’s contribution to reducing the carbon footprint. In the last few years, a select few young men and women were chosen as Eligibles. They embodied the potentials and possibilities of a generation coming of age. This year, rather than having a party to launch the Eligibles, the young people directed their energies to doing something for the benefit of the environment.
Other tree planting activities are scheduled for the rest of the year in the different parts of the city and nearby communities.