The Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) has taken over the stewardship of the Burnham Bamboo Ecopark, reinforcing the organization’s long-running commitment to environmental conservation.

During the turnover ceremony Monday, BCBC president Dionisio Dennis Jr. called on members and partners to ensure the protection and sustainability of the bamboo park.

“Starting today, the challenge of protecting and sustaining this bamboo park rests with us. Let us work together to preserve it and ensure it fulfills its purpose as a bamboo forest,” Dennis said.

The project, developed in partnership with the Philippine Bamboo Foundation, Inc. (PBFI), covers the BCBC’s adopted area in Burnham Park, where 1,002 bamboo seedlings representing 20 sympodial and monopodial species were planted in 2025.

The seedlings have been fenced for protection, and an information marker has been installed to educate visitors about the ecopark.

The bamboo park traces its roots to the BCBC’s decades-long environmental advocacy, which began after the 1990 magnitude 7.7 Luzon earthquake.

The club launched the Eco Walk program, initially a tree-planting activity in the Busol Watershed, to honor earthquake victims.

The initiative later evolved into an environmental education program for children and was eventually adopted by the city government, earning the Galing Pook Award, given by the Department of the Interior and Local Government to innovative practices of local government units.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the project, two years in the making, will enhance Burnham Park while supporting the city’s environmental goals.

“Aside from its aesthetic value, the bamboo park will contribute to carbon sequestration and help improve air quality in the city’s central business district,” Magalong said, adding that the city is expanding bamboo planting in other areas.

The BCBC is one of 67 organizations participating in the city’s Adopt-a-Park Program, which encourages civic groups and government agencies to maintain parks and urban green spaces through regular cleanup, tree planting and landscape maintenance.

Philippine Bamboo Industry Development council director Rene Madarang said the park will serve as a learning site for students, researchers and visitors, while promoting the bamboo’s role in environmental conservation, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods.

He said the project reflects the council’s goal of bringing together government, private sector, academe and civil society to advance bamboo development nationwide. (PNA)