Employees of GMR-Megawide troop to barangay Pung-ol Sibugay in Cebu City to plant 2,500 fruit tree seedlings.
Employees of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) and Megawide GMR Construction Joint Venture did their share for the environment by participating in the company’s first ever tree planting activity in an effort to help rehabilitate Cebu’s Mananga Watershed.
Last Nov. 7, almost 100 employees of the two companies trooped to the mountain barangay of Pung-ol, Sibugay, Cebu City for the reforestation project dubbed ‘Branching Out.’
The employees, including expats braved the steep climb to Mt. Pung-ol to plant a total of 2,500 native fruit tree seedlings.
After the event, GMCAC, together with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), tasked the local people’s organization to help maintain the planting site in the Mananga watershed. The PBSP is the largest corporate-led social development foundation in the Philippines.
“The tree planting activity was our way of ‘branching out’ beyond daily airport operations. It’s part of our corporate values to reach out to the community,” said Estee Marie Plunket, GMCAC Corporate Affairs head.
“Visiting the mountain barangay was a great experience to also see the hillylands of Cebu, something that is different from what we have in India. Overall, I believe the activity was a great opportunity for everyone to get together and a chance for us to show we care for the environment,” Magesh Nambiar, an expat and currently GMCAC Human Resource advisor, said.
Mount Pung-ol is part of the Kotkot-Lusaran Central Cebu Protected Landscape and is a watershed area, making it a perfect site for tree planting.
GMCAC is scheduled to have another tree planting activity by the first quarter of next year.