Of trees and reforestation

July 2, 2017 Community Billboard

Representatives from the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers (PSEM) smile to the camera as they plant tree seedlings at the decommissioned and rehabilitated Tailings Storage Facility No. 1 (TSF), of Philex Mining Corp.’s Padcal mine, on June 29. About 25 PSEM members join 10 other representatives from the Inter-Denominational Council (IDC), a church group, and a contractor for mine development of draw points, Conex, in planting 1,000 seedlings in a grassland area of TSF1, in Itogon’s Sitio Sal-angan, Brgy. Ampucao. Philex Mining kicked off on June 16 its series of reforestation activities for this year, with 32 members from the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME) planting 500 trees in Brgy. Ampucao’s Sitio Banget. This year’s reforestation program involves the planting of 83,350 trees across 50 hectares of land at its host towns of Tuba and Itogon to the tune of P2.1 million. With a survival rate of 80-90 percent, the trees being planted are Benguet pine, kupang, calliandra, antso-an dilau, ipil-ipil, and narra. PR