Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Oscar Magallones said the plant-to-graduate program of the DENR and the Massive Organizational Response to Destruction of Environment, Nature and Ourselves project of the Department of Education, are gaining ground in Siquijor. The DENR-led program has gained the support of 16 schools from the towns of Larena, Siquijor and Enrique Villanueva last year, Magallanes said.

He said a memorandum of agreement signed by the DENR, the schools and the local government units states that graduating elementary or high school students have to plant 10 seedlings each, as one of the requirements for graduation.

Aside from schools, LGUs have also the responsibility for the maintenance and survival of the trees planted, as well as the sustainability of the project.

Meanwhile, the MORDENO project will target the production of 125,000 seedlings this year, Magallones added. Before the planting, lectures on the importance of mangrove and the correct way to plant mangrove propagules and seedlings were conducted in participating schools.

"The program is a very laudable undertaking because it instills in the students the sense of ownership, thereby encourages them to protect the mangrove ecosystem," Mangallones said.

The MORDENO program also supports the Environment Friendly Schools Project by encouraging the planting of fruit or forest trees in available spaces in the school premises.

Also part of its main activities are the conduct of advocacy and networking with other agencies and the church, to respond to the threats of the environment, and the conduct of academic, cultural and spiritual activities focused on environmental protection and self-preservation.*RG

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