8.3-M trees planted, 15M more to go
A SUPPORTER of the Annual Million Trees Challenge sticks his organization’s logo on the pledging board during the AMTC Recognition and Awarding ceremony on 2 July at the Celebrity Club in Quezon City.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MTFI
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and Million Trees Foundation Inc. (MTFI) have honored supporters of its Annual Million Trees Challenge with awards and recognitions as they pledged to plant another one million trees this year for the AMTC.
MWSS and MTFI feted institutional partners, notably the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Maynilad, Manila Water, Sta. Clara International Corporation, QBE Group Shared Services Centre, and Poul Jensen Foundation/Grundfos Philippines, at the AMTC Recognition and Awarding ceremony on 2 July at the Celebrity Club in Quezon City.
The occasion coincided with the 2025 AMTC Pledging Session with the goal of planting and growing 15 million more trees by 2030.
So far, 8.3-million trees have been planted in critical watersheds since AMTC was launched in 2017.
For this year, the pledges are 163,000 from MWSS; 70,000 from Manila Water; 20,000 each from Maynilad and Bulacan Bulk Water; 393,000 from DENR; 100,000 from Laguna Lake Development Authority; 50,000 each from Boy Scout of the Philippines and the government of Camp Nakar; 40,000 from ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation’s Bantay Langis; 60,000 each from WWF Philippines and Bambuhay-Anak ni Inang Daigdig; 2,000 from JCI Senate Philippines; and 5,000 from Rotary International District 3780, according to PNA.
In last year’s pledging session, 31 partners of MTFI committed to plant more than two million trees nationwide in 2024.
Their invaluable support has been instrumental in the establishment, operations, maintenance of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center inside the La Mesa watershed, which has now become a beehive of activities for environmentalists and corporate social responsibility activities of private, corporate and government entities.
Meanwhile, other AMTC stakeholders were given awards in five categories: Champion of Trees, Kampeon ng Kalikasan, Kampeon ng Tubig Kanlungan, Kasangga ng Kalikasan and Kaagapay ng MTFI, a new category.
The Philippine College of Chest Physicians received a “Kasangga ng Kalikasan” award while the Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila was given a “Kaagapay ng MTFI” award, according to Facebook posts.