Saving the World One Tree at a Time

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 clean-ups. 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 on 22 May – 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 embassies 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 Mr. 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,” Mr. Ocier said. Blessed with abundant natural surroundings, Tagaytay Highlands is giving back to Mother Nature and doing its share on saving the environment in many ways.

For Mr. 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. By planting trees, they 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, Mr. Jerry Tiu, Tagaytay Highlands has initiated several other activities to conserve the environment. Apart from planting trees, the leisure complex also conserves energy in significant respects.

During off-peak days, Tagaytay Highlands splits up the lighting of the street lights and turning on the lights only in the important areas to minimize electricity consumption. To reduce this even more, incandescent lights have been replaced by compact fluorescent ones which cuts down energy usage up to 60 percent. Likewise, the operations of heavy equipment are operated and maintained on a set schedule to minimize the electricity consumption. 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 being used for irrigation and maintenance of Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands surrounding landscaped areas. Tagaytay Highlands is also proud of its conscious efforts in promoting its clean air campaign by means of converting its golfers’ transport vehicles to LPG power which is more economical and also pollutant-free. For Mr. Tiu, “Doing these efforts doesn’t just safeguard the environment, but our future.”

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.