Run 2 Plant 4 Greenin this Sat

A free running and planting event will be held simultaneously in the 40 municipalities and component cities of the province of Cebu this Saturday.

The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) and partners, through its GREENIN Philippines Program will hold the third Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines.

The activity aims to raise public awareness in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation among leaders of local government units and to forge their commitment to action.

It also encourages multiple partnerships in caring for the environment through the active participation of all sectors and to establish a forest model in each of the 50 towns and cities in Cebu.

For this year’s run, Naga City and Cordova will anchor the central events.

The run supports the “ridge to reef” perspective in biodiversity enhancement by enhancing the vegetation of both upland and coastal areas.

“We are encouraging coastal municipal cities to plant mangroves. Taking care of the coastal resources is a very big factor in biodiversity enhancement,” said Marge Gravador, RAFI Integrated Development Unit Executive Director.

Planting mangroves in coastal areas would not only rehabilitate coastal habitats and support marine life but also help in carbon dioxide sequestration.

A variety of indigenous seedlings will be planted by the expected 70,000 participants, said Gravador.

In Naga, participants will run a five-kilometer distance from Naga City Hall to the 10-hectare planting site in Barangay Tuyan where volunteers trained as planting coaches will guide participants on how to plant the seedlings.

The Cordova central event will assemble at the municipal hall. The runners will head to a two-hectare mangrove site where 20,000 mangrove propagules will be planted.

Registrations starts at 5 a.m. and gun start will start at 6 a.m.

Public elementary and high school students will participate as well as catholic schools from Mindanao through RAFI’s collaboration with the Catholic Association of the Philippines (CEAP).

Participating Mindanao schools include Holy Cross of Bansalan in Davao del Sur, Nabunturan in Compostela Valley, St. Mary’s Academy in Tagum, Davao del Norte, Sacred Heart High School in Iligan and Notre Dame University in North Cotabato.

The event is in line with the national government’s National Greening Program (NGP) which aims to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of land nationwide from 2011 to 2016.

Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines, one of the components of GREENIN Philippines programs, is a fun run and planting activity that provides venue for Filipinos to contribute in rehabilitating and protecting the environment.