7-Eleven, PBSP plant over 1,000 seedlings in Marikina Watershed
For their 7-Eleven Day celebration, employee-volunteers of Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC or 7-Eleven) joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) during the organization’s kick-off of this year’s reforestation caravan in the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL), popularly known as the Marikina Watershed in Calawis, Antipolo, Rizal.
EMPLOYEE-VOLUNTEERS PLANT 1,250 native fruit-bearing seedlings in the Marikina Watershed in Calawis, Antipolo, Rizal.
The company’s executives led their 45 employee-volunteers in planting 1,250 native fruit-bearing seedlings on two hectares of the watershed. This marks the company’s fourth year of participating in the reforestation initiatives in the Marikina Watershed.
“The 7-Eleven Day celebrates not just the company but also helps protect the environment. We came here in Marikina to plant trees and also in Cebu and Davao,” said PSC Chief Finance Officer Jun-Ya Liu.
The 7-Eleven employees from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao were able to plant a total of 4,750 fruit-bearing seedlings during simultaneous tree planting activities in Calawis, Antipolo; Buhisan, Cebu; and Malamba, Davao last July 11.
FOURS YEARS IN MARIKINA – For four years, Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC or 7-Eleven) has been participating in the Marikina reforestation initiative of Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).
This initiative also supports the Go Green project of PSC’s CSR arm, PhilSeven Foundation, Inc. which aims to not only promote biodiversity but also advance reforestation efforts to protect the watersheds in the Philippines.
A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
Since 2010, PBSP has been working with its member-companies and partners to reforest the Marikina Watershed. The initiative aims to revitalize the watershed and increase its capacity to hold rainwater and prevent flooding.To date, over 300 hectares of denuded forest area has been planted with native fruit bearing trees.
To ensure the survival of the seedlings, PBSP works with five farmers’ organizations in Calawis. The farmers’ organizations maintain and monitor the growth of the seedlings. This partnership also provides alternative livelihood and additional income to the locals in the area. The planting of fruit-bearing trees also prevents the cutting down of trees for charcoal-making, encouraging the locals to harvest and sell the fruits.
“We are thankful to PBSP and their partners for helping us through this tree planting initiative. This helps protect the environment and also provides us with other livelihood opportunities,” said Virginia Bañaga, President of Tulungan sa Kabuhayan ng Calawis, Inc. (TSKC).