TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University In celebration of Arbor Day June 25, 2025: TREES ARE SANCTUARIES in 10 Articles

Lesson on TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University

87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, 11 to 12 a,m, Thursday

National Arbor Day* June 25 2025

Also in observance of the International DAY OF THE FOREST 

(March 21) and WORLD EARTH Day (April 22), NATIONAL LOVE A TREE DAY (May 16),.Day of Biodiversity (May 22), Environment Day (June 6). Philippine Eagle Week(June 4 to 10).

Trees are Sanctuaries 

Dr Abe V Rotor

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.” -  Herman Hesse

Hosts: Fr JM Manzano SJ, Dr Abe V Rotor, Prof Emoy Rodolfo, AdMU and Prof Pauline Salvana Bautista

*Arbor Day in the Philippines is an annual celebration dedicated to tree planting and environmental awareness. It is observed on June 25th throughout the country, as mandated by Presidential Proclamation No. 643 and Republic Act No. 10176.

References and Review Articles

Dr Abe V Rotor

Part 1 - The Holy Father Plants a Tree - In loving memory of Pope Francis

Part 2 -  Man Versus Nature - A Brief History

Part 3 - Paradise Lost in Our Midst

Part 4 - Requiem to a Heritage Acacia Tree/Dirge of the Narra and Acacia/

              A Cross in the Sky/ Hanging Garden

Part 5 - Trees - Nature’s Gift to Man/A Driftwood's Odyssey

Part 6 - A Critique on the Lost Eden

Part 7 - Greet Sunrise through the Trees

Part 8 - The Sound of Trees

Part 9 - Let Us Save the Heritage Acacia* Trees

             Along the Highway

Part 10 - Tropical Rainforest Profile -  In loving memory of Pope Francis

 

Part 1 - The Holy Father Plants a Tree 

In loving memory of Pope Francis

1. When spring comes without stir, “don't go gentle into the night,” rise and find out where have all the birds gone to herald the new season, the new beginning of life.

2. When the monsoon ends too soon, summer sets early, the land scorched, the rivers and ponds dried up, warn of the coming of a severe El Niño phenomenon.

3. When algal bloom in make-believe proportion spreads in lakes, sound the alarm of fish kill coming to avert losses and hunger, and save the ecosystem.

4. When people move to cities in exodus, convince them, advise government, it is a tender trap that takes them away from the real Good Life on the countryside.

 

 

 

  

  Students from the University of Northern Philippines, Philippine Science High School (IS) and San Vicente Integrated School plant anahaw seedlings (Livistona rotundifolia) and seeds of fruit trees at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, April 13, 2025.  

5. When clouds simply pass over the landscape, take the lead to reforest the hills and mountains, restore the watershed with a million and one trees.

6. When flood sweeps the land taking with it lives and properties, and eroding soil fertility, be part of rehabilitation and planning; believe that flood can be tamed.

7. When you find an abundance of lichens of different types on trees and rocks, assure residents of the pristine condition of their environment, and help them to preserve it.

8. When and where wildlife areas are shrinking, backyards and idle lots can be developed as alternative wildlife sanctuary, initiate this as a community project.

9. When asked what vegetables are safe from pesticide residues and chemicals from fertilizers, promote native species like malunggay, kamote tops, gabi, saluyot, and the like, they are also more nutritious and easy to grow.

10. When asked of Nature's way of maintaining the ecosystem, explain the role of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, composting, symbiosis, among other natural processes and cycles.

11. When additives are found in food - MSG, Nutrasweet or any artificial sugar, salitre in sausage, sulfite in white sugar, melamine* in milk, formalin in fish, warn the public against taking these, initiate through legislation and campaign to ban these additives.

"Convergence of sea, land and sky - Nature's way of keeping the balance of the  ecosystem," wall mural by the author.

12. When children spend too much time before the TV, on computers, and other gadgets, offer alternatives more favorable to their upbringing and well-being by getting close to nature like camping, gardening and other outdoor activities.

13. When old folks talk about traditional wisdom and values, demonstrate native skills, listen and translate them into useful applications, disseminate these in school and through extension.

14. When animals are restless, reptiles and rodents coming out of their burrows and dens, fish attempting to escape, fowls noisy, suspect the coming of a force majeure such as earthquake, and be alert to face possible consequences.

                Tree hugging is therapeutic, 

it releases stress, restores energy.

15. When epidemic threatens an area, say bird flu, initiate community cooperation with health and other institutions to prevent further spread of the disease.

16. When a child has little concern about the environment, teach him, guide him to explore the beautiful world of nature, and make him realize his importance and his role.

17. When there is a worthy movement to save the environment, such as Clean and Green, Piso sa Pasig, or any local campaign, lead and extend your full support.

18. When there are farms and fishponds neglected or abandoned, find out how these are put back to their productive conditions, or converted into a wildlife sanctuary.

19. When at rest or in confinement for health reason, explore natural remedies with plants, pet therapy, and other proven remedies

  

"On a fine Sunday morning you hear birds in the trees, fish splashing in a pond, and plants bloom..." in acrylic by the author

20. When on a fine Sunday morning you hear birds in the trees, fish splashing in a pond, and plants bloom, say a prayer of praise and thanksgiving in music and poetry, painting, or simply a reflection of the magnificence o f creation. ~

* Melamine is a chemical compound that is illegally added to food, particularly dairy products, to artificially inflate protein content. It is a high-nitrogen compound that fools standard protein tests, which measure nitrogen content, into falsely indicating higher protein levels. This practice is not approved by any health authorities and can be harmful, causing kidney stones and other health problems, especially in infants and young children.

Part 2 -  Man Versus Nature - A Brief History

"Man, being the superior organism, has not only won over his rivals - all organisms that constitute the biosphere. He has also assaulted Nature."- AV Rotor, Treaty of Nature and Man (Light from the Old Arch)

Dr Abe V Rotor

Avalanche, consequence of man's abuse on the environment. 

 Painting in acrylic by the author

Frantic exploitation of natural resources through illegal logging operations, followed by slash-and-burn agriculture (kaingin), has brought havoc to the Philippines in the past century. The detrimental results are measured not only by the denudation of once productive forests and hillsides, but also destruction through erosion, flood, drought and even death. 

An example of this kind of ruination brought about by abuse of nature is the tragedy in Ormoc City in 1991 where floodwaters cascading down the denuded watershed, killed  8,000 people and countless animals. Ironically, before the tragedy, Ormoc, from the air, looked like a village likened to the legendary Shangrila, a perfect place for retirement. 

 

Ormoc Tragedy 1991

Decline in Carrying Capacity 

(The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available.". Wikipedia)

A land area designed by nature to sustain millions of people and countless other organisms, was touched by man and we are now paying the price for it. 

Man removed the vegetation, cut down trees for his shelter and crafts, and planted cereals and short-growing crops to get immediate returns. He hunted for food and fun, and in many ways, changed the natural contour and topography of the land. 

Following years of plenty, however, nature reasserted itself. Water would run unchecked, carrying plant nutrients downhill. On its path are formed rills and gullies that slice through slopes, peeling off the topsoil and making the land unprofitable for agriculture. Since the plants cannot grow, animals gradually perish. Finally, the kaingero abandons the area, leaving it to the mercy of natural elements. 

It is possible that nature may rebuild itself, but will take years for affected areas to regain their productivity, and for the resident organisms once again attain their self-sustaining population levels. 

There are 13.5 million square miles of desert area on earth, representing a third of the total land surface. This large proportion of land may be man-made as history and archeological findings reveal. 

Lost Civilizations 

Fifteen civilizations, once flourished in Western Sahara, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, the Sinai desert, Mesopotamia, and the deserts of Persia. All of these cultures perished when the people of the area through exploitation, forced nature to react. As a consequence, man was robbed of his only means of sustenance. 

 

Fertile Crescent in historic times, and today (Internet)

 

History tells us of man’s early abuse of nature in the Fertile Crescent where agriculture began some 3000 years ago. Man-made parallel canals joined the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to irrigate the thirsty fertile valley. In the process, the balance of Nature was overturned when the natural drainage flow was disturbed. 

Because the treaty was violated, nature revenged. The canal civilization perished in the swamps that later formed. The sluggish water brought malaria and other diseases causing untold number of deaths and migration to the hinterlands. Among its victims was Alexander the Great. Carthage had another story. Three wars hit Carthage, known as the Punic Wars. On the third one, the Romans plowed through the city, ending reign of this erstwhile mercantile power, and removing the threat to the Roman economy. After the conquest, the Romans pumped salt-water inland and flooded the fertile farms. 

 

Carthage before and at present

Today, Carthage exists only in history and in imagination of whoever stands atop a hill overlooking what is now a vast desert. 

Omar Khayyam, if alive today, cannot possibly compose verses as beautiful as the Rubaiyat as written in his own time. His birthplace, Nishapur, which up to the time of Genghis Khan, supported a population of 1.5 million people, can only sustain 15,000 people today. 

Archeologists have just unearthed the Forest of Guir where Hannibal marched with war elephants. The great unconquerable jungle of India grew from waterlogged lowland formed by unwise irrigation management. 

It is hard to believe, but true that in the middle of the Sahara desert, 50 million acres of fossil soil are sleeping under layers of sand awaiting water. Surveyors found an underground stream called the Albienne Nappe that runs close to this deposit. Just as plans were laid to “revive” the dead soil by irrigation, the French tested their first atomic bomb. Due to contamination, it is no longer safe to continue on with the project. 

The great Pyramids of Egypt could not have been constructed in the middle of an endless desert. The tributaries of the Nile once surrounded these centers of civilization. 

 

Egypt could see 30 percent of the Delta become submerged in the next 15 years as a result of global warming. (Internet)

 

Jerusalem appears today as a small city on a barren land. It may have been a city with thick vegetation. This was true of Negev and Baghdad. 

Need of a Conservation Program 

For the Philippines, it is high time we lay out a long-range conservation program to insure the future of the country. This plan should protect the fertility of the fields, wealth of the forests and marine resources, in order to bring prosperity to the people. As of now, the country is being ripped apart by erosion and floods due to unscrupulous exploitation by loggers and kaingeros. 

It is only through proper management and effective conservation, such as reforestation, pollution control, erosion control, limited logging, and proper land use, that we can insure the continuity of our race. All we have to do is to keep ourselves faithful to the treaty between nature and man. ~  (Acknowledgement: Internet Photos)

Part 3 - Paradise Lost in Our Midst

This article serves as reminder in observing World 

Environment Day. *  

 Dead Tree Standing, Mt Pulag, Benguet

“As politics starts with good citizens, so ecology starts with us who in

mind and spirit respond to the call of unity and harmony with nature.” - AV Rotor

Recently I was a speaker on ecology before students at St. Paul College QC. It was in observance to Guidance Week with emphasis to values education.   It was also a demonstration of integrating art in science teaching, an alternative methodology that makes a subject not only better understood but experienced. Hence it is also called experiential learning.

When I received the invitation, I said why can't  I try the approach I used at St. Paul?  Prof. Arlene and I had a lengthy talk regarding the outline of my discussion which I am going to present - and if you would allow me – I will use it in conducting a similar exercise with you which would take some ten minutes. 

First, “governance in the hands of the few,” mean autocratic and monopolistic rule, which has led to abuses of power in manipulating the affairs of the state.

v  Throughout history such abuses have been committed not only in closed societies, but in open societies as well.

v  Dictatorship – call it benevolent dictatorship which was claimed as the trademark of Lee Kwan Yu, Park Chung He, Chang Kai Sek, et al *– is without the shade of radical dictators like Pol Pot and Stalin.

  

v  We often hear people asking, “What about World Bank and IMF, GATT which led to World Trade Organization?  Do they also bear the brand of dictatorship?”

Second, there is “low priority of government on effective resource management” is true.  Let us look at it this way as gleamed from Prof. Arlene’s paper. 

v  Environmental management today focuses on ecology and conservation. There is much debate until now whether it is better to adopt total log ban or selective logging.  It is a sort of battle between fundamental and practical ecology.  Remember the Alaska oil pipeline conflict?

v  The thrust of environmental management in colonial times was exploitation. Our best timber was exploited during the Spanish and American colonization, and Japanese occupation. The Japanese mined Taiwan’s ancient forest. The Dutch thinned the Indonesian forest. Other colonies suffered the same. 

v  The strength of our economy when we were second to Japan in Asia was based on a vibrant exportation of raw materials such as lumber, copra, sugar, ores, etc. 

v  Cash crops economy as dollar earner bears the design of our sound economy in the past, but the player is the agri-businessman and not the small farmer.

Third, environmental degradation is a syndrome of modern society.

v  It dates way back to pre-history, but the problem is exacerbated by the growth of population and affluence.

v  Aborigines too, were also destructive to the environment.  Slash-and-burn is the most destructive method of farming. Today Easter Island is a no man’s land. Much of Peru’s original vegetative cover started to decline with the Incas, so with the forest around Lake Teotihuacan in Mexico.

v  The first recorded animal that became extinct in the hands of man is the mammoth. 

Fourth, forest denudation follows the concept of the Domino theory, a kind of chain reaction. It is loss in diversity on three levels, namely

v  Genetic diversity.  Varieties and cultivars of plants, breeds of animals, strains of microorganisms are forever lost.

v  Species diversity. The species itself can be eliminated on the surface of the earth.  Examples are the saber-tooth tiger and the dodo fowl.  Thousands of species all over the world are endangered as their natural populations continue to dwindle mainly because of human exploitation.

v  Ecosystems diversity.  The loss of natural habitat is the worst kind of environmental destruction.  Deforestation will not only eliminate the resident organisms, the forest itself is lost.  It will never be one again, contrary to the belief of many.

Fifth, authoritarian rule in the Philippines from 1972 to 1982 spawned politicians and cronies whose concern for the environment cloaked a distinct privilege of exploiting our natural resources.

v  This opened a floodgate in post-martial era leading to drastic decline of forest resources, as shown by deforestation records.

v  Forest reserve was stable for years at over 15 million hectares until 1972.  It fell in 1982 by 14 percent and continued on to decline after.

v  The plunge was in 1990 when our forest reserve was cut to almost half that of the end of martial law.

v  By 1997, our forest reserve represents only 18 percent of our total useful land (land-use area) which is 30 million hectares. It continued to decline after. 

v  What is appalling is that our land area devoted to different uses (other land-use area) such as subdivisions, industrial zones, golf courses, resorts, and the like, grew to 75 percent in 1997 as compared to 12 percent only in 1960. Our farmlands today have shrunk tremendously, the main reason we resort to importation of rice and corn, fruits and vegetables, and other commodities. 

v  Without forest we will experience desertification.  Much of Southern Cebu, Northern Luzon, the two Mindoro provinces, Eastern Samar, Masbate and other provinces have virtually lost their original forests.

Six, people’s participation in environmental conservation through community organizations and NGOs is a potent force barely tapped.

Let us consider the following:

v  Growth of Civil Society. Citizens from different parts of the world regardless of affiliation, ideology, race and belief picketed the hall where the World Trade Organization was to be signed. They nearly succeeded.

v  Greenpeace, a radical organization blocked the trade route of wildlife items, demanded governments and corporations to comply with environmental laws.

v  Time launched the search for Heroes for the Earth.  They are the likes of Rachel Carson (Silent Spring), Schumacher (Small is Beautiful), Cousteau (Oceanography pioneer), Macliing (Chico River project rebel)

  

Seven, there are social scientists who believe that ecology struggle is part of a larger ideological struggle.

v  Andre Gorz (pen name Michel Bosquet) sees ecology struggle not as an end in itself but as an essential part of the larger struggle against capitalism and technofascism.  He champions a “shifting of power from government the state and political parties to the local community and the web of social relations that individuals establish amongst themselves.”

v  Rudolf Bahro, a German philosopher, wrote “Historical Compromise” in which he blamed monopoly capitalism’s constant search for new profits as the major cause of the environment crisis threatening humanity.

Without being ideological however, there are pieces of thoughts we can gather in creating a world order of ecology. Let us consider this excerpt.  To wit:

“The privileged today are not those can consume most but those who can escape the negative by-products of industrialization – people who can commute outside rush hours, be born or die at home, cure themselves when they are ill, breathe fresh air and build their own dwellings.” (Ivan Illich a social thinker, and author of “Vernacular Conviviality”1980.

This is related with the lessons on non-cash technology advocated by the Asian-Pacific Food and Fertilizer Technology Center in Taipei. I had the privilege to study in the center under Dr. H.T.  Chang, the proponent of this concept which is in line with those of Ernest Schumacher who wrote a book, “Small is Beautiful” which offers a people-based beyond the corporate formula of development, and Dr. James Yen, adviser to PRRM (Philippine Rural Reform Movement), the precursor of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) which was headed by Senator Juan Flavier, then its director general for many years before becoming Health Secretary and Senator. 

“The progressive farmer is one who prepares his land more thoroughly, manages his nursery better, keeps his field more cleanly and has better water control – mainly through his effort and those of his family or community.  Non-cash extends further than mere savings of direct expenses. It keeps him away from debt and compromised market deals.  It means more harvest, free from residues of chemical fertilizer and spray. Ultimately non-cash technology means better home, education for his children, and a healthy environment.”

I remember the principal character of the “Mountain Man” who discovered the Redwoods of California and fought for their preservation.  President Lincoln took no time in signing the declaration of the area as a national park. This same man was dying, and it was his wish to die on the mountain alone. As he waited for death he saw the living giants that he thought he was already in another world. It was a turning point in his life, a new beginning.

I am sure there are amongst us persons of his own kind.  And if none can meet his measure, then we the members of the academe must create one – a thousand – from among the youth under our care.

May I invite you to reflect on this piece I wrote.

An Ecologist’s Prayer

When my days are done

let me lay down to sleep

on sweet breeze and earth

in the shade of trees

I planted in youth and old;

and if this were my last,

make, make others live

that they carry on the torch,

while my dust falls

to where new life begins -

even an atom let me be

with you dear Mother Earth.

                       - AV Rotor 2000

Updated 2013 ”A Reaction Paper to the Political Ecology of Deforestation. Paper presented by Prof. Arlene A. Ancheta in a Social Sciences Research Colloquium, University of Santo Tomas, Nov. 23, 2000

 The endangered Philippine deer enshrined in a fountain at UST, Manila 

 

Skull of whale (Museum of Natural History, UPLB Laguna; whole trunks of forest trees carried down by flood on Fuerte Beach, Vigan Ilocos Sur 

 Cattle ranch on a steep slope ripped off the skin of the mountain in Santa, Ilocos Sur - an example of the irreversible ill consequences of "Tragedy of the Commons." *

  Sunken town of Pantabangan Nueva Ecija resurfaces during a extreme drought. Nature is sacrificed to human needs, more so to human wants in pursuit of affluence.  

Sunken pier, Puerto Sto Domingo, Ilocos Sur; Shipwreck, Tacloban, Leyte.

To some scientists the "uselessness" of technology is likened to Lamarck's theory of use and disuse, though biological in perspective. Lamarck believed that disuse would result in a character or feature becoming reduced. 

 

 Ruin of Intramuros, Manila, left by WWII 60 years after. 
Death of cities is on the rise all over the world.

 Berlin wall falls, Germany is re-united in 1989 since end of WWII.
But more walls are built dividing cultures and politics.

 Death of trees and forests is happening all over the world.

*The tragedy of the commons is a term used in social science to describe a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action. Proposed by Garrett James Hardin an American ecologist and philosopher who warned of the dangers of overpopulation.

Part 4A - Requiem to a Heritage Acacia Tree

Relics on Display at the Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Relics of a century-old acacia (Samanea saman) in relief artwork

 (24" x 16")  by AV Rotor 2025

Your relics are your coffin and that of man,

your guardian who killed you and your kin,

and soon your very species forever gone,

with only memories in archives remaining. 

  

Details of relief painting, Requiem to a Heritage Acacia Tree, AVR 

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The International Day of Forests, also known as World Forestry Day, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 and is celebrated annually on March 21st. The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of forests and trees, and to promote their conservation and sustainable management. The theme for the International Day of Forests in 2025 is "Forests and Foods".

The theme for Earth Day 2025 is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, inviting everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030. How? By joining us in Earth Action Day, encouraging all to take action—educate, advocate, and mobilize. Pledge an Earth Action on social media. Attend/plan/register a local event. Integrate Earth Day lessons into your curricula. Donate to support our efforts. Below you’ll find resources (plus quizzes, fact sheets, articles and more) to help you take action this Earth Day, April 22nd, and every day.

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4B- Dirge of the Narra and Acacia

Former title: Heritage Tree Remembered

 Wood shards from a heritage tree against a forest 

background AV Rotor (16” x 24.5”) 2023

I sing the dirge of the Narra and Acacia,

     heritage trees our children shall miss

at the verge of extinction like Sequoia;

     save some epitaphs and memories.

If only art can take over their absence,

     in monuments and legends they live,

but where is sanctity, what is reverence,

     what can man to his Creator give?

 

Part 4C - A Cross in the Sky 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Skeleton of an acacia tree, QC

I have lost you forever,

now a silhouette in the sky,

spreading a gospel to remember

for the mindless passerby.

You lived half of your life,

yet fullest at the Throne;

earning it well with strife, 

where every seed is grown.

The birds now a flock, 

the child a man; 

you bid them all the luck,

and now you are gone.

In youth you sheltered me,

a thought I can't be free,

I atone for your brevity, 

with a thousand-and-one tree.~

Part 4D - Hanging Garden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Lianas make a flimsy veil on the trunk and limbs of an acacia tree. La Union Botanical Garden, Cadaclan, San Fernando LU. On-the-spot painting by the author. 

Where have all the flowers gone?

Gone with the passing clouds in the sky

Casting a shadow of death, then fly,

Leaving but a scorching sun.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Gone with every tear the heavens cry

On tired branches and empty ground

Where angels pass by.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Gone with the dryads now away…

Gone are the shower and bouquet

That make a beautiful day.

Part 5A -  Trees - Nature’s Gift to Man

Acacia trees, Ateneo de Manila University QC

 By Anna R. Rotor

We grow up with trees.

We want them to grow big;

we want them to be around us

to give us shade in which we play,

to give us strong trunk and branches

on which we climb and swing and laugh;

to give us fruits which make us full,

healthy and strong,

medicine to make us well,

wood that keeps our body warm,

cooks our food;

leaves to keep our air clean

and to whisper and sing

and dance with the breeze;

and above all,

to give us aesthetic beauty

through which we feel

how lucky we are alive.

How irrational would it be to kill a tree,

even if we reason out that we need its wood,

its bark, its roots, its flowers and fruits and seeds,

to keep us alive!

It is a paradox

that for us to survive and progress,

we kill the host of life –

life of birds that build nest on its branches,

passersby who find respite

from the beating sun,

a myriad of small life forms

from insects to lizards

that find a home

and harbor on its roots and crown.

What a paradox

if we kill the tree that gives us oxygen

that brings down the cloud as rain,

that keeps the environment cool, clean and green

to kill a friend,

a companion and a guardian,

the link of our earth and sun,

God and His Son.

Excerpt from a speech of Anna R. Rotor, then

16 years old at School of St. Anthony QC, 1999.

5B -  A Driftwood's Odyssey

Dr Abe V Rotor

San Vicente Integrated School coed, Miss Riyzza Mae Rotor Carbonel, shows her school project - a table vase made of driftwood, seashells, and recycled plastic materials.

I am a remnant of a felled tree in a forest long ago,

     drifting down the river to the sea;

braving the elements and patient with time, too;

     free but knowing not my destiny. 

For how long I drifted far and wide I do not know,

     my world was aimless and carefree

among creatures I met, that would come and go. 

     but to whom can I tell this long story?

Until the tides took me one day into another view,

     to where trees stood happy once like me,

where people brought back old memories anew;

     but I am now but a waste of the sea. 

Until a curious lass took me for something new,

     something for the arts, not for money;

but some kind of beauty in my ugliness to show

     Nature's hidden artistic quality. ~

Main face of the driftwood vase

Views of the driftwood vase in perspective variations. ~

Part 6 -  A Critique on the Lost Eden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Light in the Woods, acrylic, AVR 1994

A long list of vanished and vanishing species - even those that have not been discovered and named – haunts the human species, Homo sapiens, the most intelligent of all creatures. If this is not an evidence of the original sin which he continues to commit since his early ancestors were driven from Paradise, then we are merely being led to believe in something bound by deep faith, and in something supernatural.

Every time we destroy a forest, a coral reef, or grassland, we are repeating the fault of our ancestors. The biblical story is fiction if we fail to grasp its essence. True, exile comes in many ways. But definitely, if an ecosystem is destroyed, if it loses its capacity to provide the basic needs of its inhabitants, starvation, death, and other forms of deprivation follow. Does this not trigger exile – or exodus, which is the ultimate recourse for survival?

Here is a poem I wrote upon reaching Tagum. It is about the destruction of a forest I related in the first part of this article.

Lost Forest

Staccato of chirping meets the breeze and sunrise,

Waking the butterflies, unveiled by the rising mist;

Rush the stream where fish play with the sunbeam

And the rainforest opens, a stage no one could miss,

With every creature in a role to play without cease.

John Milton wrote his masterpiece of Paradise,

While Beethoven composed sonata with ecstasy,

Jean Fabre and Edwin Teale with lens in hand

Discovered a world Jules Verne didn’t see,

But found Aldo Leopold’s ecosystem unity.

For how long to satiate man’s greed can nature sustain?

It was not long time ago since progress became a game,

Taking the streets, marching uphill to the mountain,

Where giant machines roar, ugly men at the helm -

Folly, ignorance and greed are one and same.

                                                       AVRotor, 2001

Forest Fire, Acrylic, AVR 1995

In 1960 Philippine Dipterocarp Forests occupied almost 14 million hectares. What is left today is only three and one-half million hectares. The average rate of decline is over 2 percent annually. What is more alarming is the decline in the volume of trees in the forest which around 6 percent in the last 30 years. All over the world, annual deforestation represents an area as large as Luxemburg. This means every tick of the clock is a hectare of rainforest permanently erased from the globe.~

Part 7 - Greet Sunrise through the Trees

"Morning comes early as the sun peeps through the trees;

greet the birds and butterflies, lovers and artists." avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

Wake up under the green umbrella of trees, 

     cool and invigorating; 

Breathe freely, away from the stale city air,

     and catch the breeze passing.

Let the morning settle down on dewdrops,

     on mist like curtain parting;

Just let the world go by on Nature's scale,

     and life's sweet rhythm singing. 

Wake up from too much haste and worry,

     life's not a race for winning;

You may have the happiest moment in life,

     listen to the trees singing. ~ 

Canopy of heritage trees laden with lianas and ferns, 

Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

Greet Sunrise Through the Trees in acrylic by the author. ~

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”

— Kahlil Gibran

*Original Title - 2022 Year of the Trees

Part 8 -  The Sound of Trees

"I like to take the time out to listen to the trees, much in the same way that I listen to a sea shell, holding my ear against the rough bark of the trunk, hearing the inner singing of the sap. It's a lovely sound, the beating of the heart of the tree." - Author: Madeleine L'Engle"

 Dr Abe V Rotor

Caimito (Chrysophylum cainito); Talisay (Lugo Ilk) Terminalia catappa)

 

I'm a pygmy among giant trees,

     like walls of a fort guarding

against gust, noise, dust and glare,

     whispering and singing.

They greet me as the sun rises,

     bid me before sundown;

to my forebears and my children,

     bestow them the biggest crown. - avr

Macopa or Wax Apple (Syzygium samarangense)

"I hear them laugh with the breeze

and make my life at ease;

I talk to them when lonely and sad,

and hush me when mad." - avr

"Listen to no one's advice except that of the wind in the trees. That can recount the whole history of mankind." - Claude Debussy

"I love the sound of the wind in the trees and the song of the birds and the shuffle in the leaves of my many woodland friends." - Jason Mraz

 

Living stumps of Gmelina arborea

 felled by typhoon Lawin in 2016

Knock, knock, who is there?

a toad, a skink, asleep;

whispers the passing wind,

wake up, it's time to eat. - avr

 

"There was no sound but the murmur of nasty little stinging insects, the occasional crack of a falling branch, and the whispering of the trees discussing religion and the trouble with squirrels." - Author: Terry Pratchett

"With watercolour, you can pick up the atmosphere, the temperature, the sound of snow shifting through the trees or over the ice of a small pond or against a windowpane. Watercolour perfectly expresses the free side of my nature." - Author: Andrew Wyeth

"Listen ... With faint dry sound, Like steps of passing ghosts, The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break free from the trees And fall." - Author: Adelaide Crapsey

Towering heritage anahaw (Livistona rotundifolia)  

"Living towers you thrill us all,

sentinel, belfry, flagpole." - avr    

Trees do not preach learning and precepts. They preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life." ― Herman Hesse

Part 9 - Let Us Save the Heritage Acacia* Trees

Along the Highway

Photos taken from a moving car by Dr Abe V Rotor

March 24, 2023

"I came from Paradise Lost."

Adapted from Dead Tree Walking, AVR

“Trees give peace to the souls of men.” - Nora Waln

 

"Now senile, their limbs are bare, their crowns empty."  

“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson

"A living skeleton standing and about to fall.  Timber!" 

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” — Martin Luther

 

"Move over trees; we need highways, sidewalks and buildings." 

"The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.”― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince

 

"Living towers, lonely and forgotten." 

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”— Kahlil Gibran

 

"Living towers. These trees are leaning dangerously over the highway, having lost their main limbs to give way to power and communication lines."

 

"Grotesque and fearsome, this tree warns of danger to passersby." 

 

“A tree is our most intimate contact with nature.” ― George Nakashima

      

"Park at your own risk, but this is not the message.  

These trees are harmless, in fact benevolent to all." 

 

“Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.” ― Albert Schweitzer

 

"Juvenile acacia trees - will they ever become heritage trees?

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” ― John Muir

Acacia - Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr.) - known commonly as Rain Tree, Pukul Lima, Cow Tamarind, Hujan-Hujan, East Indian Walnut, Monkey-pod, Saman. mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae). It was described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica. 

Samanea saman, also known as Rain Tree, is a tree, up 30 m tall. It is widely cultivated in Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, for its iconic umbrella-shaped crown which provides plenty of shade. The leaflets fold up during overcast days and in the early evening, therefore it is also known as Pukul Lima, which means ‘five o clock’ in Malay.
 

The acacia tree is believed to be around for over 20 million years as scientists have found fossilized charcoal deposits which seem to have acacia trees preserved in them.

(Internet)

“If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees.” 

― Hal Borland

“To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots.”

― Richard Mabey

“Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing

 on a windy day.”― Shira Tamir

  

Amazing features of the Acacia (From the Internet)

“Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god nor poet; one need only own a shovel.” ― Aldo Leopold

“That each day I may walk unceasingly on the banks of my water, that my soul may repose on the branches of the trees which I planted, that I may refresh myself under the shadow of my sycamore.” – Egyptian tomb inscription

“He who plants a tree, plants a hope.”― Lucy Larcom ~

Acknowledgement: Quotations from the Internet

 Part 10 - Tropical Rainforest Profile

Dr Abe V Rotor

Rainforest serves as watershed, keeps river full and clean, 
creates a cool mini climate in the area, Bohol.

Reforestation rebuilds and increases stand of trees, Bohol

Let us look at the TRF profile like slicing a multi-layered cake and studying its profile. It is made up of storeys similar to a high-rise building. The “roof” or canopy is what we see as forest cover. Here and there are very tall trees called emergents jotting through the monotonous canopy like living towers.

From the air, the view of a tropical forest is one huge and continuous green blanket that catch the energy of the sun and through photosynthesis converts it into organic materials beginning with simple sugar to the most complex compounds from which useful materials are derived - wood, rubber, resin, and drugs, etc. These products are needed to sustain the life of countless organisms and the stability of the ecosystem itself.

From the forest floor, one can see only a little part of the sky, with the rays of the sun filtering through. But now and then, the trees, depending on the species, season and other environmental conditions, shed off their leaves, which can be compared to the molting of animals as they grow. Entire crowns of leaves fall and litter the forest floor. Transformation into humus continuously takes place with the aid of insects, bacteria, fungi, earthworms and the like. And this is very important because humus fertilizes the soil and conserves water acting as sponge and blanket.

This is one of the wonders of nature. Trees in a tropical rainforest have this special characteristic. They are not only self-fertilizing; they are soil builders. Through time, with the deciduous cycle repeated without end, the forest floor – even how thin the soil is, or how solid the underlying rock is – builds up, layer after layer, and it is this process that enables many organisms in the forest obtain their nutrition in order to grow.

Deciduousness allows sunlight to pour over the previously shaded plants occupying the various layers or storeys, which serve as specific habitats or niches. Occupying the lowest part of the forest, which is equivalent to the ground floor of a building, are mostly annuals, ferns and bryophytes. Next are the shrubs which occupy the lobby and second floor, followed by undergrowth trees that reach a height equivalent to the third and fourth floor, lianas and epiphytes which may reach as high as the eighth floor. It is not surprising to find emergent trees reaching up the 200 feet.

How big can a tree grow and for how long? Take the case of the Redwoods or Sequoia found growing in southern California, and China. I saw a tree of this kind in southern Taiwan, recently killed by lightning. The tallest redwood, which is still growing today, is 267.4 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 40.3 feet. It is estimated to be 3,500 years old.

The analogy of the layers of a rainforest with a ten- or twelve-storey building gives us in imagination of the orderliness of nature in keeping the rich biodiversity of the ecosystem.

The true forest primeval – the rain forest – stands along the equator now reduced into a sanctuary of “living fossils” of plants and animals that once constituted the eternal green cover of the earth.

The canopy at one time or another allows the sky to meet the residents of the forest from the ground floor to the upper storeys - something that if you stand among the trees during this transformation you will find a kind of communion that, while it can be explained biologically, fills the spirit with the wonders and mysteries of nature.

The tropical rainforest is a natural menagerie where peace, music, colors, patterns, art and skill are not so well known to modern man. The high-perched artists like squirrels and monkeys are better acrobats by birth and practice than any known human acrobats. Many primates howl with electrifying, ear splitting and blood-chilling sound that breadth the land. Above plummet the masters of the sky – the Philippine eagle and hawks, spotting their preys which may be several kilometers away, or hundreds of meters below – something which our modern spotting scopes can not yet achieve with readiness and precision.

Inside their tunnels the termite workers tap their way and chop the wood for their colony and themselves. Man has yet to learn more about the social structure of this insect. ~

TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University

87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, 11 to 12 a,m, Thursday

National Arbor Day* June 25 2025

Also in observance of the International DAY OF THE FOREST 

(March 21) and WORLD EARTH Day (April 22), NATIONAL LOVE A TREE DAY (May 16),.Day of Biodiversity (May 22), Environment Day (June 6). Philippine Eagle Week(June 4 to 10).

Trees are Sanctuaries 

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

 

 

    Students from the University of Northern Philippines, Philippine Science High School (IS) and San Vicente Integrated School plant anahaw seedlings (Livistona rotundifolia) and seeds of fruit trees at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.