Trees Colonizing an Abandoned House

More than two decades ago, the Millora family has a rest house on top of a small hill in the farm. The house is surrounded by many mango trees. The abandoned house has been taken over by various trees and vines. Just one more proof that to have trees again in denuded mountains, all we have to do is to allow the trees to regenerate by themselves.

  

This has been cleared several times in the past of trees within and outside the house actually. But the trees and vines simply keep coming back.  Here, usually ipil-ipil, molave, other species.

See here how the trees have conquered portions of the ceiling (ok, no more roof) and the floor.  They can protrude on small cracks on the floor, the cracks become bigger to accommodate the growing trees and roots. Nong Endring and his son Danny cannot cope with the fast growth of these trees and vines here as they have to clear other parts of the farm too, especially near the treehouse and the mango trees.

Another group of trees and vines on what used to be a portion of the roof.  And another tree on the floor of one of the bedrooms.  These trees and their roots would crack or break concrete floor and walls.

Clearing these alone would take several days.

Below upper photo, these new, small trunks actually regrew from the lower stems that have been cut a few years ago.  Within weeks, small trunks would sprout from the cut area and would grow bigger.

What used to be the veranda or porch.  And this has been partially cleared already, just a few weeks ago by Nong Endring and Danny.

Our three dogs are loyal companions to Nong Endring when he goes out to clear this and other shrubby areas. There some wild animals like snakes that may be hiding, the dogs would usually scare and chase these wild animals. Or at least bark loud to warn Nong Endring not to proceed yet.

Natural Regeneration of Trees

My usual advice to some young or new environmentalists who are so gung ho in "regreening" denuded mountains is that they do not have to plant so many trees in these areas. Trees being part of nature, are capable of growing and regenerating by themselves even without human intervention and "massive tree planting".

So the first thing they should do actually is to clear cogonal uplands and remove the vines on young or medium size naturally regenerating trees in the area. Then if there is wide space between or among these naturally regenerating trees, that is where they can plant a few seedlings. This process is called assisted natural regeneration (ANR).

In our farm, we actually stopped planting in the area near my treehouse for more than a decade now. And yet the trees keep expanding, the young trees grow by the thousands, they're like grasses. The bigger trees keep producing seeds, the wind blow them away and new seedlings will just grow nearby.

These young trees are dense, average distance of half-meter or less from each other, they just grew naturally and were not planted.

Attempted Illegal Logging by Greedy RE Agents

We started planting trees in the farm since 1992. Initially a few hundred seedlings that year. Then several thousands per year in succeeding years, but limited to a few parts of the farm. 

The Millora family, headed by the patriarch, Atty. Vicente Millora, a former Acting Governor of Pangasinan, former Assemblyman, former National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), is selling 70+ hectares of the nearly 100 hectares of mostly upland and mountainous land. One of the agents he got was a guy with initials AM.

He went to the farm in late December 2012 supposedly with interested buyers. They surveyed the areas to be sold, the area around the treehouse is not among those to be sold. But he suddenly changed plan and told our caretakers there that he will come back the next week to cut all the big trees near my treehouse. He even marked the trees to be cut immediately, after Christmas. Photos below.

He told our caretaker, Manong Endring, that he will get 4 big trees for his house in Binmaley. And that Nong Endring can get some of the big trees, but they only report a few trees to be cut to Atty. Millora so that they can make more money. Nong Endring is not corrupt. He has been there in the farm since the late 70s I think.

Upon further discussion with Dra. Judea Millora, the eldest in the family, it was decided that all dealings with AM and other persons involved in the aborted illegal logging would be terminated. The Barangay Captain of Brgy. Laguit Padilla has also been informed of such attempted illegal logging. He said that he can contact Bugallon Police to apprehend any person who will cut the trees with questionable if not unauthorized "letter" from Atty. Millora.

Mr. AM has  not visited the farm since early January. But about two weeks ago, another visitor referred to by a lawyer friend of Atty. Millora came to the farm again and inquired about the big trees.

I do not own that land in the farm, I do not even have any formal contract with the Millora family in managing the farm. It's all about trust as they consider me a family member, I have lived in their house in North Fairview for about five years I think in the early 90s. Besides, I like farming too, though more as a hobby and  harvest a few food crops, see big trees that we planted.

So I would really feel bad if those trees are simply cut by those greedy agents and their supposed "buyers" of the land.

Trees in the Farm, Part 3

I went back to the farm yesterday, more photos here. These are mahogany trees near my treehouse, where a real estate agent was salivating to cut all the big trees only last month. In another blog post.

We planted these trees in this area sometime in 1993-94 I think, so they are about 20 years old now. Although we started planting in 1992, just a few hundreds of seedlings.

It's a hilly area so soil quality is not really good as topsoil can easily get eroded during heavy rains. But the trees have managed to thrive

We planted at an average distance of 2-3 meters apart.

This is the boundary with another private farm, owned by Mario.

Going to the Farm

Some friends are asking to see the farm, it's on the western part of Barangay Laguit Padilla, Bugallon, Pangasinan. Here are some maps and directions.

From Manila, take NLEX, to Tarlac (via public road or SCTEX), to Camiling, Mangatarem, Aguilar, Bugallon.

From the highway in Bugallon, it's probably about 6.5 kilometers: 4 kms paved/cemented, 1 km unpaved/dirt road, less than half kilometer by foot as the barangay road is often destroyed by another creek which shifted course and moved to the road itself.

Another route is via Mt. Zion, uphill and winding, dirt road, nice view at the top, then go downhill to the farm. Problem is that the road downhill needs to be cleared of tall grasses.



The farm is generally upland, the trees there are always raided and cut by some locals for charcoal, firewood and lumber. We do not have resources and manpower to watch the areas upland, so we give up there. We maintain the midland, that's where the big mahogany trees are, my treehouse, the creek, the mango trees, some bananas and vegetable plots.

The uplands are up for sale by the Millora family, the owner of the farm. Some 70 hectares. See photos in articles below of the grassland.

Relaxing in the Creek

Among my short activities when I visit the farm in Pangasinan is to frolic in the creek near my treehouse, about 10 minutes bath. I took these photos last September 23, 2012. Since it was a regular rainy season then, water flow in the creek was rather good. The flash flood that occurs every time there are heavy rains remove whatever algae or slippery materials in the pebbles and river bed.

Another view of the creek, upstream side. The deepest part here was just about two feet. We did not make it deep enough, just enjoying the clear running water. There are no houses or animal farm upstream, so the water is relatively clean, and cold even during noontime.

The temporary water impounding stones and pebbles we made to raise the water level, below. These stones on the river or creek bed are not sharp, generally rounded, oblong, other shapes.

Behind the water impounding, the water drains to another pool, less than two feet deep. The stones act as water purifier, so the water below remains clean. A group of 20 people can comfortably frolic in these two pools.

If resources would allow, I would like to see the farm to be developed as an ecotourism resort. Silent, spacious lots of big trees, a two-storey treehouse, a creek, fresh vegetables to eat, fresh buko (young coconut). Exclusive use for the family or a group outing, they just bring their own food, or the locals can cook the food for them.

Security is no problem. There are no rebels or extortionists there. In the evening though, sometimes there are locals passing by, to hunt wild fish, bull frog in the creek, birds and other wild animals. Barangay Tanod or village security can be requested for additional peace of mind of guests, just give them a modest tip for an overnight watch work.


In late 2005, we (with our farm workers) also made this pool on the same spot, below. We used lots of river rocks, stones, pebbles and sand  to impound the water. The deepest part was more than five feet. It was really cool to swim here then.

Of course it was a temporary pool. When the rainy season returned, many of the stones were washed away and dragged down by the flash flood.

See also:
Creek, canal and irrigation, September 05, 2011

My swimming pool in the farm, 2005, June 10, 2011

From Forestland to Grassland

Public forest land in many parts of the country is actually grassland, with very little forest trees standing, as a result of frequent and regular raid of trees by many people, of their illegal logging, or deliberate burning of grasses and trees then use the area for vegetable plantation or terraces.

Photos below are the mountains in Bugallon, Labrador, other neighboring towns of Pangasinan. I took these photos last August 31, 2012.

The government likes to borrow a lot of money from the mUltilaterals and some bilateral bodies -- the WB, UN, OECF, JICA, USAID, ... -- for various reforestation programs since the 80s or perhaps since the 70s. The result is almost always the same for many areas nationwide -- after money has been collected, taking care of the newly planted seedlings does not seem to happen. These seedlings and young trees can be killed by weeds and vines, by grassfire and/or lack of water; or by competing trees that are naturally regenerating by themselves and hence, deprive the younger ones with sunlight.

In my observation of denuded mountains, if people and/or the government want to see a thickly forested land someday, among the first things they should do is NOT plant trees but rather. Instead, they should free up the naturally regenerating trees from competition by huge and tall grasses, vines that choke the trees' trunk and branches.  Assisted natural regeneration (ANR) is seldom or hardly applied as contractors, including NGOs and rural cooperatives that were engaged by the DENR, want bigger budget per hectare. ANR means lesser budget per hectare.

The private farm that I help manage in Bugallon, a big portion of it is claimed by the DENR regional office as being "public forest land", photos below. Individuals and rice farmers' cooperative members started planting here. Many of them use madre de cacao or "kakawate" as planting materials. They were told to plant at 4x5 meters spacing, sometimes 2x3 meters.

The DENR and local government units (LGUs) are often so concerned with "tree planting, tree planting,... They often do not put enough resources and manpower at watching and protecting the naturally-regenerating  trees from being cut and stolen. Lower right photo, a man carrying an illegally cut or stolen tree from the public forest land. 

Will continue later...

Trees in the Farm, part 2

I visited the farm last week, August 31, 2012. I think the "representative" photo of the farm will be this -- a treehouse perched on a big and live mahogany tree, is itself surrounded by many big trees, and a small rice field in the front.

This is part of the "public road" passing by our farm. That road going up is generally abused with deforestation and various forms of illegal logging by the local folks themselves who live in the barrio. Only the portion in our farm that the trees are allowed to grow tall and big. The thieves respect the "private property" aspect, so long as there are people watching the property regularly.

Another view of my treehouse, the rice field, and many trees around it.

The trees viewed from a hill near our "dikit-dikit na manggahan". If our caretakers do not visit the farm daily, plus our dogs who accompany them and stay in my treehouse at night, thieves and illegal loggers will simply chop these trees for their own interests.

Several panoramic view of the trees. 

This part is near the border with the "public forest land" with very little forest trees. 

Another side of the farm, not far from my treehouse. The young trees, they multiply like grasses once the mature and bigger ones have started bearing seeds. The seeds are spread anywhere the wind will blow them.  

More, more trees...