With the looming “Graduation Legacyfor the Environment Act 2016” where students will be required to plant at least
ten (10) trees in order to get their diploma, another load on the shoulders of Technology
and Livelihood Education teachers is added as
they are still battling the School Inside a Garden (SIGA) program.
In a previous Gulayan sa Paaralanprogram (GPP) convention, educators remain at a quandary how - with many
addressing the problem of allotting garden spaces in their crowded urban
schools - could they create SIGA specified in Departmentof Education Memorandum187 s 2018.
The SIGA program, believed to be
loosely inspired by the Garden City urban planning concept, aims to establish “schools inside gardens featuring mostly
indigenous and endemic trees and flowering plants” and “sustain environmental consciousness and
action among learners and the community…” Garden City on the other hand, is
“intended to be planned, self-contained
communities surrounded by ‘greenbelts’, containing proportionate areas of
residences, industry and agriculture.”
With the GPP, schools and teachers
have been preparing for the eventuality of these green goals and ideal
community concepts under the National Greening Program (NGP) pursuant to
Section 5.2 of Executive Order (EO) No. 26, s. 2011. The challenge, however, is
in the roles of local government units (LGUs), city governments, and national
agencies that include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Management, the Department of Agriculture, and the private sector.
DENR’s Jacqueline Caancan, NCR
regional director noted that “When we park our cars, we always want it under a
tree’s shade,” she said. “But the irony is: Who wants to plant a tree?”
Many well-meaning peoples’
organizations and agencies conduct “planting” activities for decades now, but
have been failing due to unsustained cultivation of trees. Common sense
dictates that tropical plants require regular watering, organic nourishment,
and protection in order to fully grow as trees, but these have not been
properly addressed.
Environment and waste gardening advocate Margaret Tadeja calls on the private sector, especially major business
establishments to pitch-in for the urban communities they thrive from.
“Healthier environment means more robust production and consumption,” she said.
“Teachers and students are ready to get out and plant in their communities, but
the community should also provide for protected spaces as well as support if
only in the form of water, sturdy large pots, and garden soil to ensure that
these plants will survive.”
As DepEd and their partner NGOs
drum up greening in schools, the business and private sector have
Adopt-a-School as a means to actively support community greening efforts.
Interested parties may call 632-9941372 on how they can engage in building
healthier communities, residential and work spaces.
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