Overview
As a tropical nation, the Philippines is an important country for maintaining and improving the health of the world's tropical rainforests. Tropical forests around the globe are vital in many ways.
Impact
Your support will help us make a difference by planting trees in a meditation refuge and retreat center in the Philippines. You're helping restore deforested land into rainforest in the Sierra Madres - a haven for endangered wildlife and an important watershed.
Receive
Digital tree dedication certificates and nurture photos will be shared to keep you updated on the progress of our rehabilitation and reforestation program.
Tree Species
We choose trees that will bring the greatest overall benefit to the ecosystem and region. This includes different types of native trees. Depending on the needs of each section of habitat being restored, species may include rainforest trees, native fruit trees, bamboo, and vetiver.
The Sierra Madre Mountain Range
The Sierra Madre has been called the backbone of Luzon Island, Philippines for a reason. Aside from the way it stretches along the eastern coast of Luzon like a spine keeping the country upright, it’s true function is to act as nature’s shield against the onslaught of super typhoons and storm surges.
At 500 kilometers long, the Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the country and our greatest hope at surviving the Philippines’ many, many natural disasters. It spans 10 provinces, three regions, and protects the 50 million lives in Luzon. While it doesn’t stop typhoons in their path, it can reduce its strength and absorb the worse of it.
Covering almost 1.4 million hectares, which is home to the country’s most biodiverse forests, Sierra Madre is undoubtedly irreplaceable. The large mountain range is home to almost 20 protected areas and forests, such as the La Mesa Watershed Reservation and the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscapes.
Nibbāna Forest Refuge
Sierra Madre is being threatened by Illegal—and legal—mining, deforestation, and construction on its land, which are slowly chipping away at Luzon’s biggest natural shield. (read more)
The trees for our Rehabilitation and Reforestation project and Dedicate a Tree program are being planted and nurtured in a
4-hectare expanse of land in Llavac, Real, Quezon where we are currently building and setting up a meditation refuge center. Our mission is to create a meditation retreat center for both lay and monastic practitioners, with a long-term vision to provide the first refuge for fully-ordained Forest Monks in the Philippines.
The land will generate goodwill from both the meditation and Dhamma activities as well as the merit of regenerating the soil and protecting the land and wildlife.
Your Impact
Your support will help us make a difference by planting trees at the site of Nibbāna Forest Refuge, a Theravadin meditation and retreat center in the Philippines. You're helping restore deforested land into rainforest in the Sierra Madres - a haven for endangered wildlife and an important watershed. You are welcome to visit any time to nurture and meditate with the trees.
