Nearly 30 Sacks Of Garbage Left By Hikers At Mt. Pulag Were Picked Up During A Clean-Up Drive

As the third highest mountain in the Philippines, it's not surprising that Mt. Pulag is one of the most climbed mountains in the country. Dozens of climbers troop to the mountain every month to experience walking through its grassy slopes and watching majestic sceneries such as the sea of clouds and a clearer view of the Milky Way Galaxy.

This influx of visitors, however, has a dark side. In a recent clean-up drive held at the mountain, guides and porters and other concerned groups gathered between 20 to 30 sacks of trash. Most of these are plastics and are therefore non-biodegradable.

The Cordillera Conservation Trust (CCT), an organization seeking "to provide relevant practical and sustainable solutions to environmental problems arising in the Cordillera region" was at the clean-up drive and posted photos from said drive on Facebook. Check them out below.

Empty water and soda plastic bottles among those gathered in the mountain. Photo by the Cordillera Conservation Trust. 

Post by Cordillera Conservation Trust.

The CCT wrote, "We joined the guides and porters today to clean up Mt Pulag and were horrified by the amount of trash climbers have left on the mountain hidden in the grass, on the sides of camp, etc.. This is one of the main reasons we are pushing to close down the Babadak trail to camping and requiring all tourists to stay in homestays in the Ranger Station area and climbing at dawn to the summit. This will minimize both the waste and impact on the mountain and provide much needed income for the local community. We must have picked up 20-30 sacks of trash littered from the mossy forest to the summit."

The organization's suggestions that the Babadak Trail be closed to camping and that climbers should be required to stay in homestays near the Ranger Station have merits and they do make complete sense. These will benefit the place and the locals both environmentally and economically.

Nature Lovers Of Baguio And Benguet, This One's For You

A month ago, we participated in a tree planting activity at Mt. Kabuyao in Tuba, Benguet. Dubbed Reforest The Road, the event aimed to reclaim portions of the forest that were destroyed because of an allegedly illegal road project. Hundreds of pine tree and coffee seedlings were planted that day. Participants in the event came from all walks of life - policemen, religious groups, folks from the media and private individuals. Needless to say, it was a productive day.

This coming Sunday (August 31), another tree planting activity is scheduled at the same site by the same organization that came up with the first one. The Cordillera Conservation Trust will be providing the seedlings to be planted at the destroyed forest. Everyone is invited to join the event. Assembly area will be at the Kabuyao Elementary School at 7:00 am. Bring with you your digging tools. Getting to the planting area will require a bit of hiking so it's recommended that you bring enough water and snacks with you.

Below is a picture of two young cows that live near the creek at the base of the river. They will greatly benefit from the trees to be planted at the destroyed forest above them. Their survival will depend on how the citizens of Baguio and Benguet protect and preserve the forest they are living in.

Photo by cordilleransun.com

If you can recall, the destruction in Mt. Kabuyao (hundreds of trees were cut and huge portions of the mountain were excavated) happened a couple of months ago. No other than Baguio City congressman Nicasio Aliping Jr. has been tagged in the environmental atrocity. As of this writing, the cases filed against the solon seem to be stuck and not proceeding anywhere.

The chatter around what happened in Mt. Kabuyao has dwindled in recent weeks. This is why it's great that the Cordillera Conservation Trust is organizing another tree planting activity to be held there. This not only helps in rehabilitating the area, it also redirects people's attention to the damage done to the forest there. We won't forget what transpired there, will we? Visit the CCT's Facebook page for the latest updates on the upcoming tree planting event.

Reforesting The Mountains Of Naguey And Pasdong In Atok, Benguet

If you are to pass through the stretch of the Halsema Highway that runs within Benguet, it's hard not to notice the hills and mountains that have been stripped of their forest covers. The creation of these open and treeless spaces were due to various reasons the most noticeable of which is the clearing of forest covers for vegetable gardens.

This is not to say that creating farms out of previously forested hills and mountains is a bad thing. After all, the main source of income in the province is agriculture. Putting a death sentence to farming mountains would be tantamount to putting thousands of people out of jobs. However, there should be a balance between farming and preserving the environment. It's about time that people learn the value of protecting the natural resources that they have.

Among those in the forefront of preserving and conserving the mountains in the Cordillera region is the Cordillera Conservation Trust (CCT). An organization headed by JP Alipio, CCT helps in building forests and sustainable communities. Last July 26 and 27, CCT spearheaded forest building activities in Pasdong and Naguey in the municipality of Atok in Benguet. Below is a video featuring footage from said forest building activities.
CCT will be conducting more forest building activities in the coming months. They'll be going to Tinoc, Ifugao on August 15-17 and to Tacadang, Kibungan on September 19-21. They will also be conducting roots and shoots trainings. These trainings are scheduled for September 27-28 and October 4-5 in Kabayan, Benguet and Bokod, Benguet respectively.

CCT was also behind the forest building activities done last July 15 in Mt. Cabuyao in Santo Tomas, Tuba. Dubbed #reforestthereoad, pine tree and coffee seedlings were planted in a stretch of land destroyed by a road project. Baguio City Congressman Nicasio Aliping Jr. has been tagged as the one behind the road project. The solon however has been denying any involvement in the road project.