The Importance of a Native Trees Nursery

CEBU, Philippines - A native tree nursery is a home for many young seedlings. It is designed to provide a favorable condition for growing native tree seedlings until they are ready for planting. During the early establishment of young seedlings, they need to be shaded and nurtured well—something that a nursery can only provide.

“Seedlings need to have healthy roots and leaves that can withstand the open weather elements once they are planted in the field. Planting quality native tree seedlings is one of the keys to ensure their growth to becoming thriving forests,” said Rowena Alensonorin, executive director of the Integrated Development unit of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

She pointed out the need for the country to increase the number of nurseries and venues for seedling production, especially after President Benigno Aquino signed Executive Order 26 or the National Greening Program that aims to plant some 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares for a period of six years from 2011 to 2016.

At the same time, the Department of Education is pushing for the planting of trees as a requirement in order for elementary and high school students to graduate.

Native tree nurseries can also address the demand of private companies, like those engaged in real estate development, which are required to comply with the Environmental Compliance Certificate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

To help cope with the demand, RAFI maintains the RAFI Native Trees Nursery in Busay, Cebu City, which houses 120,000 native tree seedlings of more than 160 native tree species. The 12,500 native tree seedlings planted during the Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines last June 25 was taken from this nursery.

RAFI also initiated the creation of satellite nurseries in Cebu, including the Native Trees Nursery of the Cebu Industrial Park Developers Industries in Balamban, which maintains 32,000 native tree seedlings; the municipal tree nurseries of San Francisco and Aloguinsan; and the native trees nursery of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu located in Canduman, Mandaue City where students learn how to grow native trees.

Through the Expanded Green and Wholesome Environment that Nurtures Our Cebu Program of the Cebu Provincial Government and RAFI, 48 of 52 cities and municipalities in Cebu already have tree nurseries, addressing the demand of seedling requirements in their respective localities.

A native tree nursery can be established on a small piece of land, even on a backyard. A 15-square meter area can already accommodate 1,000 native tree seedlings with ample space for a caretaker to work on them. Native tree seedlings, which are more beneficial to the environment and animal compared to exotic ones, can be sourced out in two ways: seeds and wildlings.

“In choosing a nursery site, the most important factor is the availability of a reliable and continuous supply of water. It would also be good if the source of the garden soil is near the nursery for ease of transporting it. Exposure to sunlight and wind must also be considered to prevent wilting of seedlings,” Alensonorin said.

Investment cost of a native tree nursery depends upon the number of seedlings to be raised. Seedlings will stay in the nursery for a minimum of six months and will be ready for planting by then. The water and manpower requirement of a nursery contains much of the budget of the nursery but these can be addressed in some innovative ways. For instance, water catchments can be created to store rainwater to be used during times when water is scarce. Nursery can also be placed near water source such as lakes, rivers and streams. For the manpower requirement, volunteers can be tapped. The challenges in maintaining a nursery include dealing with pests and diseases, drought, and selling of seedlings.

“Careful planning for the nursery tasks and distribution of funds must be done to ensure the sustainability of the nursery operations. It would also help that the nursery will create its promotional strategy and study the market trends,” said Alensonorin. (FREEMAN)