27 July 2018, Laguna Quezon Land Grant, Siniloan, Laguna.  This account was produced by Geraldine Francisco,  lead organiser for Siemens, Inc. Philippines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) tree-nurturing program held on the 27th of July 2018. Thank you Geraldine and every one who joined!

In the early morning of July 27 (Friday), 73 tree-planting volunteers from Siemens, Inc. Philippines headed towards the Laguna Quezon Land Grant (LQLG), a sprawling 6,765 hectare tract of forestland that straddles the border of Siniloan, Laguna and Real, Quezon.  Managed by the University of the Philippines, Los Baños branch through a government decree established in 1930, the LQLG is one of the identified areas for the Philippine government’s Expanded National Greening Campaign which aims to rehabilitate 7.1 million hectares of denuded, degraded, and unproductive forestlands in the country until 2028.

Located at the southern portion of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, the LQLG, was a popular site among logging concessionaires a few decades ago before the era of log bans. Hence, replenishing its forest cover was high on the agenda of government and concerned private groups such as  Fostering Education and Environment for Development, Inc. (FEED), one of LQLG’s legacy partners.

Volunteers started trickling into the training center at 8:00 a.m. After everyone had registered and settled themselves, Anne Marie Mananquil Bakker, FEED’s Director of Partnerships, welcomed the group and thanked them for taking time off work to engage in CSR – “We are proud to partner with Siemens Philippines for a cause that will benefit future generations. It is only with the support of private groups and concerned citizens like yourselves that our vision of a greener and brighter Philippines can be achieved. You could be out there today closing sales, getting orders, and working on your to-do lists, but instead you chose to leave a legacy for the environment and for younger Filipinos who will inherit it. We are so grateful that you chose the LQLG as the site of your organization’s CSR activity. Through this CSR planting, Siemens also contributed PHP 12,000 to the FEED Scholarship Fund that will be awarded a practical research project in the field of sustainability, including a carbon sequestration estimation of the trees planted. Thank you very much, on behalf of FEED and our partners at the LQLG.”

Jorel Nuyda, President and CEO of Siemens, Inc. Philippines commended the volunteers for living out the Siemens core value of being Responsible and for contributing to the company’s sustainability goals – “Colleagues, thank you for waking up early and travelling this far to help restore our country’s forest covers. Your involvement in this CSR activity is a reflection of our core value of being Responsible. It also shows your “malasakit’ towards the environment. We all know that trees contribute to the fight against global warming by absorbing carbon emissions which drive climate change. Trees also prevent the run-off of flood waters, soil erosion, and landslides – catastrophes that threaten communities and disrupt lives. What you will do here today will have an impact on future generations, so I would like to commend all of you for volunteering. This activity also offers us an opportunity to bond in a very meaningful way.”

Rey Lorida, LQLG’s Head Forester and Manager shared historical data from the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to give volunteers a clearer idea on the extent of the degradation of our country’s forestlands. He revealed that the country’s forest cover is now down to only one-fourth of its original state in the 1900s which holds the oldest forest cover data. He further shared that widespread logging is responsible for much of the forest loss, along with illegal mining operations, rural development and population expansion.

“The Philippines is losing around 47,000 hectares of forestlands every year. Our country’s forests are disappearing fast so we also have to act fast. We all have to develop the habit of planting trees. Hopefully, what you will be doing today is the start of a lifelong commitment to help our country rehabilitate its degraded forestlands,” he said to the volunteers before the group hiked to the planting area. A few colleagues stayed behind to do nursery activities in support of the next group of tree-planting volunteers.

After a 30 minute hike, volunteers reached the planting area, where site preparation and demonstration is done by the local community and forest guards. Then everyone started planting in earnest, amidst the happy banter and evident camaraderie of the participating teams.

Slideshow of Tree-Nurturing by Siemens, Inc. Philippines

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Around 820 seedlings of Philippine indigenous forest trees were planted within about an hour from arrival to site (approx. 1500 ft upland in the Sierra Madres).

Volunteers then proceeded to a lawn in front of a man-made lake for a simple lunch of home-cooked adobo wrapped in banana leaves (“Binalot”) which was prepared by community dwellers that also serves as their alternative livelihood. The local settlers in LQLG are often involved in FEED’s tree nurturing activities, from site preparation, to landscaping and vegetable harvesting to ensure their role in helping us all protect this part of the Sierra Madre’s watershed.

Four Siemens participants who stayed at base camp, participated in producing 200 nursery seedlings of Philippine native trees (which will be used during FEED’s next Students and Volunteers for the Environment / SAVE planting), pictured below – thank you!

The activity ended with the awarding of certificates to volunteers from Siemens Philippines, wherein Ms. Anne acknowledged the role of Geraldine Francisco who helped coordinate the program and Siemens CFO Mr, Mar Po – whose daughter had also planted part of the 4,500 trees at the LQLG during the USA Girl Scouts Overseas & Cub Scouts Pack 351 Manila planting on 27 February 2018.

The certificate reads in part – “We thank Siemens Philippines – as new FEED patrons of Education & Environment for your key role in significantly contributing towards Climate Change Action by sponsoring the planting of 820 Philippine indigenous forest trees in the Sierra Madre mountains, Siniloan, Laguna for estimated carbon sequestration and as part of the LIVING LEGACY: Plant a Tree, FEED Our Future CSR Program this July 27th, 2018.”

Thank you Siemens, Inc. Philippines for your Outstanding Performance as new FEED Patrons of Education & the Environment!

	Last Name	First Name		Last Name	First Name
1	Adarlo	Arvin	37	Nuyda	Joseph Jorel
2	Aguilar	Cristeta	38	Orit	Zenaida
3	Andal	Bon Bryan	39	Pacheco	Daryl
4	Araneta	Carolina Adoracion	40	Pague	Roa Ann
5	Arcilla	Joey	41	Palacio	Ric Jayson
6	Arcinas	Menandro	42	Pamulan	Samuel
7	Arieta	Nobel	43	Pensaber	Ara Grace
8	Brucal	Mary Joy	44	Peralta	Reymund
9	Buergo	Jose Marie Enrico	45	Pinpino	Nessi
10	Caballero	Feromar	46	Po	Mariano III
11	Candelaria	Rowena	47	Ramos	Terry Anne Janice
12	Caol-olan	Krissia Anna	48	Ramos	Christopher Leonardo
13	Carbonilla	Gilda	49	Reaport	Kimberly
14	Cheng	Vincent	50	Rellora Jr	Wilfredo
15	Chua	Maritoni	51	Reyes	Princess
16	Collantes	Mary Rose	52	San Antonio	Astra
17	Concepcion	Juan Carlos	53	Santos	Renelou
18	Denilla	Wilfredo	54	Sendiong	Arturo
19	Domingo	Aldrin	55	Serafico	Carla
20	Francisco	Geraldine	56	Suiza	Ronald
21	Hernandez	Eunilyn	57	Tan	Erlinda
22	Honrade	April Gay	58	Tanchuco III	Jesus
23	Janobas	Nueva	59	Timkang	Antonio
24	Ladia	Gregorio	60	Tordecilla	Edgard
25	Lector	Maria Antonietta	61	Torres	Joselito
26	Macanas	Marilou	62	Tuliao	Francis
27	Macatangay	Irene	63	Umali	John Reinoel
28	Malaluan	Christopher John	64	Vargas	Norman
29	Manuel	Darren Elmarc	65	Velasco	Maybelle Lynn
30	Mendoza	Jonathan Kevin	66	Venus	Adonis
31	Merced	Marjorie	67	Villanueva	Randy
32	Millano	Josef Roderick	68	Villarubin Jr	Reynaldo
33	Mingo	Aida	69	Viray Jr	Salvador
34	Mirto	Jonalie	70	Yadao	Almira Mae
35	Musa	Regina Mariell	71	Yason	Emil
36	Noceja	Noreene	72	Yuchongtian	Ann Janelle

GPS Coordinates

Use any GPS (Global Positioning System) software / applications to input the latitude and longitude coordinates to be able to remotely see the location of your trees planted. Some examples include:

https://www.gps-coordinates.net/
https://gps-coordinates.org
https://www.maps.ie/coordinates.html
http://www.mapcoordinates.net/en

About Siemens, Inc. Philippines

More than 120 years in the Philippines…

Did you know that Siemens’ first recorded presence in the Philippines dates back to 1894?

Siemens established its first recorded presence in the Philippines in 1894, ages before globalisation became the norm. By 1994, Siemens, Inc. Philippines became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens AG. With over 300 employees, Siemens, Inc. has been a trusted partner of major players in the fields of Power & Gas, Wind Power and Renewables, Power Generation Services, Energy Management, Digital Factory, Process Industries & Drives, and Healthcare.

Its formula for success and longevity is quite simple – leverage on core competencies to create value for customers and stakeholders, while maintaining profitability and growth.
With its patented technology solutions in the growth fields of electrification, digitalization, and automation, Siemens continues to help the Philippines hurdle its major challenges and move towards a more sustainable future.

Siemens – a global engineering conglomerate

Siemens AG is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering focused on growth fields along the electrification, automation, and digitalization value chain.

The Company has around 340,000 employees in over 200 countries working to develop and manufacture products, design and install complex systems and projects, and tailor a wide range of solutions for individual requirements.

For over 165 years, Siemens has stood for technical achievements, innovation, quality, reliability, and internationality.

For more information, contact Siemens:

• Siemens Inc., 14th Floor Salcedo Tower , 169 H.V. Dela Costa St. , Salcedo Village Makati, Philippines

For general inquiries:

• Trunkline Number: +632 814 9953
• Fax Number: +632 814 9807
• Email: cc.ph@siemens.com
• Corporate Communications Office: Tel. (632) 814 9859  / (632) 878 9403

Contact FEED

FEED runs a number of Students and Volunteers for the Environment (SAVE); Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – such as mangrove planting for coastal protection or ridge reforestation plantings; One Child, One Tree; Bio-Intensive Gardens (BIG) for nutrition in public elementary schools and other spaces; Climate Change Survival 101 and other LIVING LEGACY programs – customised environmental engagement activities for individuals and organisations interested in contributing to climate change adaptation efforts and greening critical areas such as watersheds, ridges, and reefs that all require rehabilitation.

Tree-Planting with FEED

Check out the video journey by Clueless Commuter who planted with us last 24th of June 2017 to get a good idea of how FEED plantings go: https://youtu.be/KROn4rjVqBg

Contact us at FEED for more details, to join our regular activities or to design your own tree-nurturing event: info@feed.org.ph or call/text +63 (0)917 552 4722.

© FEED, Inc.