ENERGY Development Corporation (EDC) on Geothermal Day donated 5,000 BINHI native tree seedlings to the province of Sorsogon to help restore the greenery that was damaged by typhoon Tisoy in December 2019.
The province declared March 5 as Geothermal Day last year in recognition the importance of this source of clean, renewable, reliable energy in achieving a low-carbon economy for the province, as well as the contributions that EDC has made in empowering communities surrounding its 150-megawatt Bacon-Manito Geothermal Project (BGP) that straddles Albay and Sorsogon.
Seedlings of kamagong, white lauan, tanguile and narra were turned over to Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero by the EDC team led by the BGP head, engineer Marcel Rosario, at the provincial capitol.
The initiative was undertaken in response to Escudero’s request for fruit and forest tree seedlings from EDC.
“We responded positively to our beloved governor’s request not only because we recognize him and the province of Sorsogon as a valuable partner, but also because it is aligned with our BINHI greening legacy and with our need to keep growing our forests to sustain our geothermal reservoir,” said Rosario.
BINHI is EDC’s forest restoration program that aims to bridge forest gaps and bring back to abundance 96 endangered Philippine native tree species. The company has been able to reforest over 1,500 hectares within the BGP reservation apart from producing mother trees after 10 years of implementing BINHI in the area.
To complete its Geothermal Day commemoration, EDC also presented Escudero with a copy of its “Wildlife Treasures” coffee table book.
