At least 18,389 “seed balls” of native trees were dispersed via drone technology as part of the reforestation project in Bukidnon, a provincial official said Friday.

Ritchie Mae Guno, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provincial director, said the project was in partnership with the Pangantucan town government and its Indigenous People (IP) community to exhibit the innovative drone reforestation technology.

The seed balls were dispersed in batches from May up to this month within the four-hectare patch in the Mt. Kalatungan range, an ancestral domain of the Manobo-Talaandig group headed by Datu Erio Inahan.

Guno said the next step would be the quarterly aerial monitoring by “Galansiyang” for an inventory of the germinated seed balls.

Galansiyang is a startup company that partnered with DOST and operated the drone technology used for reforestation.

As counterpart, the DOST, the Protected Area Management Board–Mt. Kalatungan Range Nature Park, the IP community, and community stakeholders will conduct ground monitoring.

The seed balls contain seeds from endemic trees coated with soil and organic manures to support their germination and growth.

The seeds came from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, and the IPs of Mt. Kalatungan. (PNA)