On April 22, the world celebrated the Earth Day with a common goal - to plant more trees. Driven by this idea, its relevance and a very opportune time to take action on climate change, we joined the Earth Day celebration by initiating a “Plant a Tree for the Earth” initiative as our initial advocacy action to save Mother Earth.
We - a group of visual artists alongside with the youth and community from Marinduque (an island in the Philippines) – worked together to celebrate this moment with the world, by planting mangrove trees at the Botilao Mangrove Forestry situated in the Botilao Island in Marinduque - the well-known "Heart of the Philippines", due to its heart-shaped form.
Photo Credit: Trees for The Earth
Our commitment to plant trees, together with some friends, fellow artists, and fellow environmentalists, went beyond expected, and our movement to plant mangrove trees become an inspiration to people of Marinduque Island to partake in saving, not only their Mangrove Forestry, but also the environment of the island. To join us on this quest, we had the help of volunteers from Sining Karaban, a Free-Art Learning Education that promotes leveraging creativity to help and inspire the young people and the participation of the Dream Favor Travel & Tours, a private company who also promulgates a good environment in the island through Eco-Tourism initiatives.
The day started early, and together hand-in-hand, we hit the road leading to the Mangrove Forestry. As we initiated a remarkable and unforgettable celebration of Earth Day in the Island of Marinduque, we felt a strong and positive support from the community, willing to help mitigate the effects of Climate Change by creating a new green “blanket” of trees to “cover” our Mother Earth.
Photo Credit: Trees for The Earth
Find out more here.
Why mangrove trees?
We decided to plant more mangrove trees in the Island of Marinduque, not only because of the urgent need of reforestation in the island, but also because the most important role of mangroves is to protect vulnerable coastlines from wave action: they hold the soil together and prevent coastal erosion. Mangroves shield inland areas during storms and minimize damages at places like the Philippines. During the past tsunamis in Asia, there were no deaths to register in the areas which had mangrove forests, compared to those areas deprived of mangroves, which suffered huge causalities. We’re also aware that Mangrove forests provide excellent habitats for several species of plants and animals, such as crabs, sea shells, and shrimps. It also provides great nesting sites for endangered sea turtles.
It is our mission, not only to inspire others, but especially to engage youth to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and take continuous actions towards saving our Planet, so that everyday can become Earth Day.
Photo Credit: Trees for The Earth
Photo Credit: Trees for The Earth
Photo Credit: Trees for The Earth
