Not all scientists wear white coats and not all learning happens inside a classroom. Especially not if you are trying to rebuild the rainforest as the Haribon Foundation is currently doing. Buhay Punlaan, Haribon’s native tree nursery is a unique type of classroom where the teachers wear muddy boots and students really get their hands dirty. The aim of this nursery is to showcase ‘rainforestation technology’ in order to spread knowledge and skills so the Philippines can regain its lost forests.

During the 20th Century, the Philippines saw some of the most devastating forest loss in the world. In 1900 about 68 percent of the land area was covered in forest. However, with the rise of logging concessions and the demand for hard woods on the global market, the country saw a drop of 35 percent by 1969. This is mainly due to the Philippines being an open market during the Marcos era, when the most intense logging was seen and in which an estimated 300,000 hectares were lost per year between 1965 and 1975. By 2003 the estimated forest cover had dropped to just 24 percent, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

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