First Lao Lao Planting

After all those meetings, all those site visits, and all those outdoor classroom experiences, we've finally started planting trees up on the Lao Lao hillside.

This morning we planted a total of 375 trees and broadcast 4600 seeds.

We planted a total of 125 saplings. The species were Sosugi (Acacia Confusa), Kamachili (Pithecolobium dulce), Banalo (Thespesia populnea), Gaogao (Erythrina sp.), Daok (Calophyllum inophyllum), and Madras Cacao (Gliricidia sepium). These species were all chosen by CNMI Forestry as species likely to grow in the damaged soils on the hillside.

We also planted 250 Pago (Hibiscus tiliaceus) cuttings. It might look like we just stuck a bunch of poles in the ground, but once it starts raining, those poles are going to grow into trees. These are going to serve as firebreaks that will hopefully help suppress fires in the years to come.

Then we broadcast 200 Putting (Barringtonia asiatica) seeds, 200 Kamachili (Pithecolobium dulce) seeds, and 4200 tangantanga (Leucaena leucocephala) seeds. These are very hardy species that will grow almost anywhere. We're hoping that these seeds will sprout and grow in the damaged soils of the badlands.

Today's effort was a collaborative effort between government agencies and community groups. Coastal Resources Management, CNMI Forestry, Division of Environmental Quality were involved in the planning and Beautify CNMI, MOVER, the Stream Team, and the Marianas Resource Conservation & Development Council provided the manpower.