The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the National Capital Region and Megaworld Corp. have partnered to roll out a community PanTREE project.
DENR and the real estate developer recently signed a memorandum of understanding under the arrangement that Megaworld would host and set up community PanTREE booths within its malls and distribute free seedlings of fruit-bearing trees and vegetable crops for interested shoppers.
NCR executive director Jacqueline Caancan, and Megaworld Corp. vice president and marketing and business development head Tefel Pesigan-Valentino forged the deal.
The community PanTREE project is DENR-NCR’s contribution to efforts to assist the resident of Metro Manila deal with quarantine fatigue and food security through urban gardening.
“We want to help people to be productive during these critical times, for them to have sustainable sources of food, and to minimize their pandemic-induced stress at the same time by encouraging them to plant and start nurturing nature,” Caancan said. Rio Araja
She said studies have shown the effectiveness of exposure to nature, particularly green vegetation in reducing stress.
The project was first launched on April 22 in time with the celebration of Earth Day and has since been replicated by other DENR offices.
