STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan (PIA) – A school-based tree planting program held on Wednesday at the Dagupan City National High School (DCNHS) instilled in Filipino children the importance of both environmental protection and environmental responsibility.
Since Pangasinan is among the areas at risk due to climate according to the 2023 Gross Domestic Climate Risk, this initiative is important as trees will benefit air quality and reduce heat rates, especially in the summer season.
The tree planting activity of the DCNHS, which was participated by its teaching and non-teaching personnel, students, and other stakeholders, is part of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) project dubbed “DepEd’s 236,000 Trees – A Christmas Gift for the Children” to ensure a cleaner and greener environment.
Based on DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2023, signed by Vice President and Education Secretary Sarah Duterte, each school should plant at least five trees, in which a total of 47,678 public schools nationwide participated.
“However, we have a total of 50 fruit-bearing trees planted. We exceeded the indicated minimum in the memo to contribute a lot to this environmental project, create a conducive learning environment for our learners, and localize action of the school for mitigating climate change,” Willy Guieb, principal of DCNHS said.
Guieb emphasized that planting trees in schools has various advantages: a good learning experience for the youth, enhancement and beautification of the school premises, and beneficial for students’ health and well-being.
Aside from the educational benefits where the students learn the responsibility of taking care of trees that help stop climate change, Guieb explained that planting trees will help enhance the ambiance of the school grounds and reduce heat that may put someone’s health at stake.
“Even though there are electric fans, it is still too hot inside the classrooms. But we have noticed that our buildings which are surrounded by trees are relatively cooler. So, we must plant trees at the school level as they provide shade and improve air quality,” Guieb stated.
In addition, Guieb said the DCNHS management plans to create more ‘Green Parks’ in the school premises to create a conducive environment that their students can use as part of their learning process.
He also said that students would appreciate the importance of environmental preservation and responsibility even more through participation in greening activities.
“To all our learners, with the ongoing battle on climate change, you must value the sustainable future, and this includes participating in greening projects which involves not just tree-planting activities but also other initiatives such as material recovery or recycling facilities – an avenue for you to see the measures being taken to mitigate climate change,” Guieb urged their students. (JCR/AMB/JCDR/PIA Pangasinan)
