• February 2023

    Winston, the boss in front of the surf store of the Amihan environmental group at Dahican beach in Mati.

We close the circle. Our chain in cooperation with other organizations is as follows: While planting mangroves, we collect plastic trash from the ocean, also to help sea turtles and hatchlings hatched from eggs get to the beach or ocean without barriers, and, to prevent plastic bags from covering coral reefs and being ground into microplastics. The collected trash is reshaped into durable and colorful plastic chairs for schools, like the ones in the photo above. So the plastic waste doesn’t end up in landfills. But even that is not a solution; it is only an intermediate step. For all of us, the priority must be to avoid plastic wherever possible.

Not planned, but well met. The biologist Michelle from Berlin was in Mindanao for almost a month and worked in the projects of Mama Earth, exchanged with the university in Mati and talked with planters. It seems as if it was arranged that the boat “Malizia-Seaexplorer” arrived at the stopover in Cape Town exactly on the same day that Michelle landed there. Thus, the team around Boris Herrmann was provided with fresh information. The direction is right, because the project is rounding off more and more, as can be read above, and “only” needs to be multiplied. In the meantime, the mangrove plantings have passed the two-thirds hurdle of the first million, but the work ahead is still gigantic. On February 26, the “Malizia-Seaexplorer” sets off again on a monster leg of approximately 12,750 nautical miles from Cape Town in South Africa to Itajaí in Brazil, accompanied by storms and freezing temperatures. A leg that demands everything from the sailors

Michelle, a biologist from Berlin, spent almost four weeks visiting our projects, but focused on the mangrove reforestation in Malizia Mangrove Park. She then flew to Cape Town to meet with her parents. At the same time the Boris crew arrived with the “Malizia Seaexplorer”. There was a lot to talk about, because the first million mangroves are getting closer.

The sign shows the pioneering project of the Monkayo community. The yellow area is reserved for Mama Earth to plant bamboo commercially. The start with 2,200 seedlings (Dendrocalamus asper and Bambusa longinternode) has been made. The next 2,200 seedlings will be planted in early March.

But the negative is also part of life: The reaction to our bamboo activities is disappointing. Here is the possibility to achieve a stable repayment after a short time with a small financial investment. Therefore again our request: Please have a look at our offer. The number of sets is limited, because at these conditions, because we pay only the seedlings and take over the management. The planting costs are paid by the mayor’s office to promote the cultivation of bamboo. If you have any questions, just ask.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/82aa33f2-09da-4ccf-b55c-b95bf21e7737

The German-language book “Kapital Baum” is not yet sold out. Surely it is also due to the price, because with 20 euros it is not exactly cheap. But: The book only costs 10 euros, the other 10 euros are for planting a tree for you. Now we have thought of the following to quickly start a new and revised edition: You pay only 10 euros for the book including postage and packaging. However, without a tree. Please make a hearty grab. We have put the first chapter online to give you an impression of the high-quality book.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/fdbcb3d6-465b-446c-8965-d4b9703b94a3

Our myTree gift cards are also not a big seller at the moment. We use these cards to fund reforestation efforts. We currently have two areas where your endemic trees grow: In Marilog, around the Tribe Center and in the nature park Mount Apo, with 3,143 meters the highest mountain in the Philippines. We can only recommend to take heart, because both areas urgently need trees more trees. For the reforestations around the Tribe Center we have as title a couple in traditional Tribe costume, for the Mount Apo reforestations a watercolor of the famous Philippine artist Uni Sam, which he provided us free of charge. The high quality cards with the photo and the coordinates of your tree cost 10 Euro.

Our reforestations are not progressing as fast as we would like. For the reforestations around the Tribe Center we have about 1,800 gift cards available, for the reforestations in the Mount Apo Nature Park we still have more than 3,200. All trees have already been planted and are just waiting for a donator.

Questions about the topic? Ask them to us!