Photo from: @maisabelreyes on Instagram
Soon, we might not need to go to Japan to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sakura or cherry blossoms.
According to CNN Philippines, the first-ever sakura park in the Philippines is expected to bloom in Benguet.
Officials of Atok, Benguet along with officials from Kochi prefecture and Japanese embassy planted sakura trees and other trees from Japan on a mountaintop park in Benguet to celebrate the 40th anniversary of sisterhood ties between Japan’s Kochi prefecture and Benguet province.
The park will be opened to campers.
The 30 sakura trees planted are expected to bloom in three years. In November 2015, 100 sakura trees were initially propagated but only a few survived because according to Japanese botanist Kiyuharu Yamamoto, they were planted at the wrong season. Now, it is expected to be better because the planting was done at the start of the rainy season.
In addition to this, there are plans to plant more sakura trees in other nature parks in Benguet such as Mt. Timbac and Mt. Pulag.
The Department of Tourism and the Department of Environmental and Natural resources in Cordillera expressed commitment to support this. They hope that someday the park becomes “a tourist destination once the trees grow and bear flowers.”
Excited to see the sakura park once the cherry blossoms bloom? So are we!
Was there a study conducted to assess if this foreign tree is going to affect our native birds and other species? Why couldnt they create a park dedicated to philippine endemic flowering trees?
Hope govt can also plant indigenous Palawan cherry blossoms and also fire trees. Just imagine a major roadway with firetrees in full bloom on both sides. Wow!!