“So that the children of tomorrow will not suffer for the mistakes that we have committed today”. This was the guiding of principle of Cahayag barangay captain Peluche Bergado. As part of her environmental awareness and preservation campaign, she launched one of her pilot projects, Plant a Tree for Tomorrow: Save the Cahayag River Bank, last January 30. The current surge in weather condition and the heavy downpour due to the cold front as well as the continued widening of the banks of the Cahayag River due to soil erosion are the main reasons for the environmental concern. Bergado exerted a conscious effort in planting around 250 forest trees seedling along the river bank. Generous friends also donated some seedlings in addition to the one given by the Department of Agriculture.
Aside from the tree planting, they were able to hit two birds with one stone since they were able to clean up the river of rubbish and garbage such as household plastic. To encourage participation, she made the activity compulsory to her barangay health workers, nutrition scholars, Sangguniang Kabataan, and her barangay council. To attract her constituents, a free t-shirt were given to the first 50 volunteers. As a way of monitoring the growth and progress of the newly-planted seedlings, the barangay chairman assigned those residents from the district where the river is situated. Together with the people of the barangay, they are making this activity a yearly engagement until they see a rehabilitated river and its beauty restored.
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