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Photo PAK AwardingOZAMIZ CITY, Misamis Occidental, May 9 (PIA)--A total of 265 Grade 3-5 pupils and Grade 6 of batch 2019 first beneficiaries of Prutas Alang sa Kinaiyahan (PAK) from the 17 barangays of Ozamiz City received Green Thumb Awards and customized school supplies during their Recognition Day, May 9.

The City Nutrition Office in coordination with the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC), Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) spearheaded the awarding ceremony of PAK Project, a greening through fruit trees planting with the help of children and a practical project to achieve greening by planting high value fruit trees which is done annually among Grade 1 pupils.

PAK is an eco-nutrition initiative towards caring for the environment and promotion of good nutrition.

City Nutrition Action Officer Lelit Navarez said PAK aims to provide better nutrition for school children by involving them and their parents to plant high-value fruit trees and eventually produce organically-grown fruits; and generate additional income for the family while instilling in them the values of caring for the environment.

Climate change adaptation and mitigation, carbon sequestration, and DRRM call for more planting of trees in strategic areas within the city in line with the Ozamiz City Risk Reduction and Management Plan, Navarez said.

Also, the project is part of the nutrition-sensitive programs being implemented and monitored by the City Agriculture Office and City Nutrition Committee (CNC) as included in the Ozamiz City Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP).

Instead of planting “lumber-able trees” which will be cut later on, the Grade 1 pupils were provided with grafted fruit seedlings such as lanzones, rambutan, mangosteen and durian.

The fruit trees, when properly taken care of, are expected to bear fruits even before the pupils will graduate elementary.

The identified beneficiaries of the PAK project are the Grade 1 pupils to teach them, young as they are, to help save the environment through planting and nourish the plant as they mature. (Shaine Mae R. Nagtalon, PIA10)