02 February 2021, Hagonoy, Bulacan. “We have successfully conducted the first phase of mangrove assessment. We have 8 patches of mangrove areas – and did two! 6 more to go. I write this short article and would like you to publish in FEED website. I also attached some photos here and in another email – which can be used in the article.” – Natalia “Nats” Sali, Founder, One Child, One Tree
One Child One Tree (OCOT) conducted the first phase of its mangrove assessment in Tibaguin on Saturday 30th of January 2021. The data will be the baseline for the mangroves monitoring that OCOT will be conducting every year.
Prior to the fieldwork, volunteers attended a refresher course facilitated by Professor Glenn Umali of UP Los Banos (UPLB). Glenn has been supporting OCOT in his spare time as a volunteer, imparting his knowledge on mangrove conservation and training volunteers on mangrove research.
The group is composed of Natalia Sali, founder of OCOT, Abby Robles, Aliyah Ramos, Efraim Santos, James Cruz, Marlon Lopez, Nikka Reyes, Monica Sali, Frances Reyes, Francis Reyes, Ralph de Leon, and Mr Vic Cruz of Hagonoy Fish Farmers Cooperative. The volunteers were also met at Hagonoy port by Hagonoy Vice Mayor Angel Cruz. Mr. Cruz has always been supportive of OCOT’s Mangrove Rehabilitation Program and dropped by to discuss with the volunteers his plans for Hagonoy’s natural resources. After an hour’s boat ride, the group did a courtesy call with Tibaguin barangay chair Mr Willy Suico. Mr. Suico also suggested a potential area for the planned community mangrove nursery.
Knee-deep cold murky waters welcomed the volunteers in the first mangrove area. The soil was soft and slippery. However, these challenges did not stop the volunteers. With perseverance, two plots were successfully assessed, each containing about 10-40 trees each. The second mangrove area was a long, straight, and narrow strip of mangrove trees, which was harder for the volunteers to assess as the mangroves were a few feet underwater. The volunteers happily immersed in neck-deep water to measure the trees.
One Child, One Tree’s five year plan is focused on rehabilitating the mangrove areas in Tibaguin and Pugad, two coastal barangays in Hagonoy, Bulacan. To date, the Sanguniang Bayan of Hagonoy has approved 10 hectares of protected mangrove area. It has also allocated funding to plant more mangroves in 2021.
Started as a family advocacy of Sali family, OCOT has now been recognised as a formidable local group in mangrove rehabilitation. It utilizes science-based approaches and engages the community and local partners to implement its activities. OCOT has been declared as national winner of the Energy Globe award in July 2020. In 2019, it also received a special citation for environment advocacy from Jollibee Family Values Award.
If you are interested to know more or to support One Child, One Tree, do get in touch with Natalia Sali at natsali2001@yahoo.com
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