31 August 2019, Siniloan, Laguna Quezon Land Grant, Sierra Madre Mountains.  32 staunch Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Patrons from Odfjell Ship Management Philippines joined in restoring 500 native Philippine forest trees to the Sierra Madre Mountains last Saturday, 31 August 2019 as part of their CSR advocacy for 2019.

following their August 20, 2016 planting of 400 trees. Several participants while planting the current 500 additional forest trees, expressed gratitude and joy during the fun walk to the site, one even encountered a baby snake in her planting pit, and still decided she wanted to plant more next year.

Led by Odfjell General Manager, Torger Trige (1st on left in photo above), he was among many participants who mentioned: “Wow, that went faster than we thought!”  FEED planting sites are always prepared in advance using standard spacing, hole depth and width, and with seedlings sourced from our sites typically managed by local communities as a livelihood source; site preparations and appropriate species selection are guided by scientific expertise, in this instance, from the the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), led by Forester Reynaldo Lorida, Field Manger of the LQLG.

FEED program coordinators present were Anne-Marie Mananquil Bakker, Director for Partnerships; VP Operations, Diane Penales who also led the warm up stretching exercise prior to the 20 minute moderate trek to the planting site; and one of FEED Founders, Pieter E.M. Bakker – who also helped document the program through photography.

 

600 Indigenous Philippine Forest Species Planted

Three different species of Philippine forest species were planted, namely: Bignay, Kamagong and Lipote.

Adopting the agroforestry approach, the selection of trees or shrubs  grown in the LQLG is carried out by Field Manager Reynaldo E. Lorida and forest guards, in order to apply a combination of agriculture and forestry for varied benefits including increased biodiversity and reduced soil erosion. Below are some important critical functions of each of the species planted:

Bignay (Antidesma andamanicum Hook.f.)

Bignay is a small, smooth, dioecious tree, 4 to 10 meters high… Fruit is fleshy, red, acid, edible, ovoid, and about 8 millimeters long, single-seeded, and borne in grapelike pendant clusters (often paired), wrinkled when dry, the seed becoming somewhat compressed.  Common from northern Luzon to Mindanao, in thickets, etc., in the vicinity of towns and settlements, and occasional in forests. It has several edible functions here:

– Fruits made into jam and jelly;
– Fermented into vinegar, wine and brandy;
– The leaves when young are edible, eaten raw, in salads, or stewed with rice;
– Leaves used as substitute for tomato or vinegar to flavor fish and meat stews; and
– A good source of calcium and fair source of iron.

Source: http://www.stuartxchange.com/Bignay.html

Kamagong (Diospyros discolor)

Commonly known as velvet apple, velvet persimmon or mabolo tree, is a tree of the genus Diospyros of ebony trees and persimmons. Its edible fruit has a skin covered in a fine, velvety fur which is usually reddish-brown, and soft, creamy, pink flesh, with a taste and aroma comparable to fruit cream cheese. It is native to the Philippines, where kamagong usually refers to the entire tree, and mabolo or tálang is applied to the fruit.

Kamagong timber is extremely dense and hard and is famous for its dark color. Like many other very hard woods, it is sometimes called “iron wood” because its wood is iron-like and nearly unbreakable.

Finished products from kamagong wood, such as fine furniture and decoratives can be exported provided that they are properly documented and approved by the Customs authorities. Kamagong is also popular for martial arts training implements such as bokkens and eskrima sticks.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_discolor

Lipote (Syzygium polycephaloides)

Lipote is a small to medium-sized tree growing up to 14 meters tall. Trunk is up to 75 centimeters in diameter.  Flowers are white, numerous, and in panicles. Fruits are subglobose, fleshy, red to dark purple, sweet sour, and edible, 1 centimeter in diameter.

Typically found in primary forests at low and medium altitudes.  Aside for its wood and construction qualities, the Lipote is also occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit. It is considered vulnerable and potentially endangered. Its fruits are rich in vitamin C, and eaten raw or cooked, also used in making preserves, jellies, wine, pickles and beverages. Folk tales speak of its curative qualities for diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Ifugaos are known to use the sour fruit for treating coughs, and the leaves decoction for hypertension.  Other recent applications include the production of  tropical fruit wine.

Source: http://www.stuartxchange.org/Lipote.html

Thank you Odfjell Eco-Warriors!

1	Almazan, Jolly Ann	17	Perez Jr., Rodrigo
2	Bahande, Alma Kwin	18	Pinedo, Arnel
3	Bola, Marie Stephanie	19	Reprado, Mary Grace
4	Canete, Roldan	20	Salayo, Marlo
5	Dincol, Mark Alexis	21	Sharma, Hyacinth Rajcel
6	Driz, Dylan	22	Solis, Rachelle Ann
7	Enriquez, Marvin	23	Sosa, Mark Jason E
8	Flores, Lynn Kressel	24	Tirones, Mary Nichole
9	Flores, Rhodalyn	25	Trige, Torger
10	Gimena, Agnes Kristine	26	Vicedo III, Edilardo
11	Gipa, Maria Zyra	27	Virtusio, Shiela Salvacion
12	Ignacio, Julie Ann	28	Zamora, Remigio
13	Labarias, Jehoiada Marie	29	Kyrkjeede, Jan Steinar
14	Luma-Ang, Jonalyn	30	Syversen, Jens Kristian Berg
15	Medina, Maria Vanessa	31	Slettan, Alexander
16	Ortega, Reny	32	Stokka, Kjell Oscar

Photo Mosaic

Odfjell Ship Management Philippines – CSR Tree Planting, 31 August 2019

 

Photos c/o: Shiela Virtuoso, Communications Officer, Odfjell

Photo Journal

GPS Coordinates of Odfjell 2nd Mini Forest

 

Use any GPS (Global Positioning System) software / application 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 Odfjell

About ODFJELL

Odfjell is a leading company in the global market for transportation and storage of bulk liquid chemicals, acids, edible oils and other special products. Originally set up in 1914, the Company pioneered the development of the chemical tanker trades in the middle/late 1950s and the tank storage business in the late 1960s. Odfjell owns and operates chemical tankers and LPG/Ethylene carriers in global and regional trades as well as a joint venture network of tank terminals.

For more information on ODFJELL, visit: http://www.odfjell.com/

About FEED

Fostering Education & Environment for Development (FEED Inc.) is a non-profit that reforests parts of the Sierra Madre. Besides helping plant the indigenous Philippine trees, FEED will also help look after the trees to ensure their survival, as the 1,000 trees planted will form part of large-scale reforestation efforts. Massive reforestation could be extremely useful in removing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

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: Video 

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 CSR Program: info@feed.org.ph or call/text +63 (0)917 552 4722.

© Fostering Education & Environment for Development, Inc.