Tree planting is a tradition here at Mountain Maid Training Center that is being held on June 25.
Former president Gloria M. Arroyo issued a proclamation declaring June 25 every year as Philippine Arbor Day. Last year the local leaders participated in this activity by planting coffee seedlings and Benguet pine with their names attached to the seedlings.
The coffee saplings are thriving while very few of the pine trees survived. This year the student-workers and staff planted coffee seedlings with their names. They are encouraged to visit, fertilize and talk to their trees.
Included in the Philippine Arbor Day proclamation are the following statements:
> The necessity to promote a healthier ecosystem for the people through the rehabilitation and re-greening of the environment.
> Planting more trees will not only help reforest denuded areas but also make the entire country a greener and healthier place to live in.
>The necessity to declare a day each year for conducting actual tree planting and foster partnership and environmental stewardship among various sectors of society.
Arbor, comes from the Latin word, meaning tree. Trees are the earth's oldest living organism. They improve air and water quality, reduce heating and cooling costs, provide a cool and beautiful place to live, work and play. Trees are renewable source of fuel, shelter, food and other products and provide benefits that directly affect the economic environmental and social health of the people and communities.
At the end of tree planting activity on Arbor Day, the students sang the poem Trees by Alfred Joyce Kilmer. The poem's last lines are "Poems are made by fools like me. But only God can make a
tree."