Plant a Tree: A Means of Caring for Our Body

Published November 18, 2010 | By Daton Jonathan B. Palitayan, Jr.

David, in his psalm, exclaimed that God cares for man so much that He made him ruler over His creation. Hence, just as man was created master of his body, his actions and life so was man created master of his environment. It is of no wonder that the great German Philosopher Karl Marx could say with authority, “Nature is man’s body.”

The ACGS students and faculty pose at the foot of Bangan Hill as they prepare to ascend to the tree planting site.

With this same view in mind, the Aldersgate College Graduate School students and faculty through the Aldersgate College Graduate School Extension (AC-GraSE) Project carried out a tree-planting activity at Bangan Hill, lower Magsaysay, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya on November 6, 2010.

Bangan Hill has been declared a national park, called as the Bangan Hill National Park, on March 29, 1995 through REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7954. The park is fifty meters wide on both sides along the Bangan Hill Road in the municipality of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, and has an aggregate area of 130,106.43 square meters.

Mr. Daton Jonathan B, Palitayan Jr., AC-GraSE Project Coordinator and Associate Professor of the ACGS, led 36 GS students in planting 150 Mahogany seedlings in the aforementioned site.

Engr. Leonardo Cabauatan, a first year MPA student, coordinated the activity with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office which provided the seedlings that were planted.

Antonio Aggid, a father of three and one of the caretakers of Bangan Hill National Park, accompanied the ACGS faculty and students to the tree planting site.