DOH kicks off tree-planting campaign in NCR

Health officials in Metro Manila on Tuesday kicked off a tree-planting campaign at the Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City to remind the public of the importance of trees for sustainable living.

The Department of Health's Metro Manila unit undertook the campaign along with the Departments of Energy and Natural Resources and Interior and Local Government.

“We have been neglecting the importance of trees, which provide us the very important element for sustainable living, which is oxygen,” said DOH Metro Manila head Eduardo Janairo.

The campaign initially targets "eligible areas for planting and growing of seedlings in all health facilities in Metro Manila including health centers."

Species of trees provided by the DENR include molave, mahogany, yakal, Macarthur palm, ilang-ilang, sampaguita, white lauan, caballero, rambutan, and calamansi.

The DOH also said the campaign is in support of Executive Order No. 26, the National Greening Program, which calls for a massive forest rehabilitation program and seeks to grow 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares nationwide within six years.

Janairo said his unit will coordinate with local government units to locate available public domain for the trees to be planted.

Backyard gardens

Janairo also encouraged residents to set up herbal backyard gardens.

“I encourage everyone to have their own backyard garden if they have areas available. You don’t need a big area or lot to plant. Pots or drums and cans can handle small species of trees like the Chinese bamboo, which is the best absorbent of air pollution or use hydroponic, which is a system of growing soilless plants,” he said. — BM, GMA News