The Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) will plant 20,000 balabago, madre de cacao and fruit trees as part of its Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) Program in seven cluster areas in Lake Sebu.
Senior Environment Management Specialist Loida Villa disclosed that 16,500 balabago and madre de cacao seedlings were already distributed and planted, while the remaining 3,500 fruit trees seedlings are set to be delivered any time soon.
“The tree planting was conducted around the perimeter of the lake, including the 4 islets in the lake,” Villa added.
The seven cluster areas around the lake include Purok Pag-asa – Estaris Resorts (Cluster 1), Arellano – Fishport (Cluster 2), Lambanig-Lamnabol-Tabite (Cluster 3), Lamsufo- 3 Fingers (Cluster 4), Isla Grande, Isla Tbenwo, Isla Valenzuela and Isla Tupas (Cluster 5), Bacdulong (cluster 6) and Tabaay – San Miguel Outlet (Cluster 7).
“we hoped to accomplish the tree-planting before the year ends,” Villa further added, referring to the additional 3,500 iunplanted seedlings.
Earlier, PEMO launched its Lakeshore Beautification Contest which is open only for the municipality of Lake Sebu particularly in the communities identified within the cluster area.
Tentative schedule of said contest will be from October to December this year.
Criteria of the contest include General Cleanliness – 40%; Planting Materials (combination of ornamental plants, forest and fruit trees) – 15%; Healthy Seedlings (with tree guards) – 15%; 100% Survival Rate (planted trees and ornamental plants); Attractiveness of the landscape design – 15%; No existing structures in the lakeshore that can destruct the landscape – 5%, for a total of 100%.
Prizes at stake for the top three winners are as follows; First Prize – P20,000.00, Second Prize – P15,000.00, Third Prize – P10,000.00, Fourth Prize – P5,000.00, while a consolation prize of P2,000.00 will also be given to the non-winning cluster.
The evaluators of the contest were chosen fom the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, Provincial Information Office, Arts, Culture, Tourism, Sports and Museum Promotions Unit and the Department of Interior and Local Government provincial office.
