Saving trees through surgery

MANILA, Philippines — To prolong the life of old trees, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has been facilitating “tree surgery,” the most recent of which was conducted inside the compound of St. Scholastica’s College in Manila.

Director Henry Adornado of the DENR’s Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau said that centennial trees or trees more than 50 years old in urban areas or parks, can be subjected to surgery.

“What is done is that the infected part of the tree is removed and you apply a certain kind of paint which can treat the infection and stop further degradation. At the same time, that part of the tree is cemented which in time will naturally close and heal by itself,” Adornado explained.

This is one of the strategies we are adopting now to prolong the life of a tree, he added.

Adornado noted that just recently, the bureau conducted surgery on four of the trees spread out in the campus of St. Scholastica’s College.

He said the president of the college requested the assistance of the ERDB through Sen. Loren Legarda, to take action on old trees inside the campus.

“We visited the place, and we found out that there was improper management of the trees inside the campus. We recommended proper pruning and trimming of trees. So the trees that we found to be infected, we recommended surgery,” Adornado said.

He added that prior to St. Scholastica’s College, tree surgeries were done at the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Forestry, Camp John Hay and at the Mount Arayat Natural Park.