ROTARY CLUB OF WEST CDO WELCOME AUGUST WITH A BAMBOO PLANTING ACTIVITY
On August 4, 2024, fifteen officers and members of the Rotary Club of West Cagayan de Oro planted 200 bamboo seedlings in Barangay Quezon, Gitagum, Misamis Oriental. This activity is an initial phase of the Club's project named "Ridge to Reef" to be implemented as its contribution to protect the environment from further degradation. The participating West CDO members were joined by nine personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; seven residents from Barangay Quezon and two media personnel.
The "Ridge to Reef" project will cover three ecosystems, namely: upland, coastal and reef. It will be implemented in three phases: bamboo planting in areas vulnerable to soil erosion; mangrove tree planting in selected coastal areas and restoration of the coral reefs. The three ecosystems greatly contribute to the productive existence of human beings in our planet. Hopefully, completion of these phases will result to the ecological restoration of the area as well as economic activity of the people residing therein.
Relevant data shows that bamboos will not only prevent soil erosion but it will also provide construction and building materials, food and livelihood for the people living in the community. It also provides a balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. On the other hand, mangrove forest will act as storm barriers in coastal areas and controls coastal erosion. Construction of artificial reefs, meanwhile, will rehabilitate the coral reefs that were destroyed through illegal and abusive fishing practices.
This project is under the supervision of Past Assistant Governor Ferdinand Espiritu, Service Director, Service Projects-A (Community Services) and Rotarian Frumencio Quiblat, Jr., project chair. It addresses one of the areas of focus of the Rotary International which is Support the Environment.
